“I think I’m useless on the field” - MS Dhoni makes massive statement on CSK wicketkeeping ahead of IPL 2025

Former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni believes he adds no value to the side in the field if he is not keeping wickets. The 43-year-old stated the same ahead of his 18th IPL season and 16th with CSK in the ongoing 2025 edition.

Dhoni holds the IPL record for most wicketkeeping dismissals with 191 in 265 matches. However, his glove work aside, the veteran cricketer has often directed traffic on the field and helped new CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad from behind the wicket since last year.

In an interview with JioStar ahead of the 2025 IPL season, Dhoni spoke in detail about his wicketkeeping, saying [Via India Today]:

"It's a challenge, you know, and that's what makes it interesting and also the fact that if I'm not wicketkeeping, I think I'm useless on the field. Because that's where I read the game in the best possible manner. I have to be really close to the game, for the angles, to see how the bowler is bowling, how the wicket is behaving. What is the change."

He added:

"In the first six overs with the new ball, the wicket behaves differently. After that, has it changed or it remains the same, all these things, when I'm right behind the stump, I'm in a better position to judge what really is happening and then to convey to the captain as to this is what is happening, whether it's a bad delivery that has gone for a 6 or it's a good delivery that the batsman has hit for a 6. I can differentiate between the two when I'm behind the stumps."

Despite being 43, Dhoni continues to pull off spectacular stumpings and catches behind the stumps. Yet, without Dhoni as captain, CSK struggled in the 2024 IPL season, missing the playoffs for only the third time in their rich history.

"It feels like a sack of rice falling from the back of a truck" - MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni played down a spectacular catch of his from last IPL season in a game against the Gujarat Titans (GT), calling it a fluke. The then-42-year-old dove full length to his right to dismiss Vijay Shankar in CSK's 63-run win over GT in Chennai.

Reacting to a clip of the catch in his interview with JioStar, Dhoni said:

"It's a fluke. If you closely monitor it, it feels like a sack of rice falling from the back of a truck. The whole thing is if we can reach with two hands, I've always been a fan of trying to take catches with two hands, and it helps. So it always feels good if you can contribute like this. But I'm not somebody who you would see dive around a lot or to take those, you know, great catches, one-handed great catches. I'm quite a safe keeper. I like to keep it that."

Dhoni has set the stage on fire with his wicketkeeping heroics in CSK's IPL 2025 opener against the Mumbai Indians (MI). The veteran gloveman pulled off an incredible stumping off Noor Ahmad in 0.12 seconds to dismiss MI skipper Suryakumar Yadav in Chennai yesterday (March 23).