"A Big Name, But If I Go Into Stats...": Former Pakistan Cricketer's Criticism Of MS Dhoni's Wicketkeeping

Ex-Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has taken a dig at former India skipper MS Dhoni over the latter's wicketkeeping skills. Latif, who himself was a wicketkeeper-batter during his playing days, used stats to put forward his views. He said that Dhoni dropped around 21 per cent of his catches which is a "huge" number. It is worth noting that Dhoni registered 256 catches and 38 stumpings in Test cricket, 321 catches and 123 stumpings in ODIs and 57 catches and 34 stumpings in T20Is. However, Rashid feels that one should also pay attention to the number of chances missed by a wicketkeeper.

"Dhoni was a batsman-wicketkeeper... Dhoni is a big name. But if I go into stats, his (catch) dropping percentage is 21 per cent, which is huge, huge," Latif said on his YouTube channel Caught Behind.

"Everybody goes to catches but no one notices number of catches dropped, number of stumps missed, number of byes given and missed run-outs, then you get points," he added.

MS Dhoni, who is touted as one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, retired from international cricket in August 2020. He is still active as a player in T20 cricket for his Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings.

When asked about who he feels is the best wicketkeeper, Latif expressed his inclination towards South African wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock, though he added that the southpaw lacks finishing abilities.

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"If you look at the best in last 15 years, the best would be Quinton de Kock. He has kept wickets and batted well in all three formats. He has not been a good finisher but a superb wicketkeeper-batsman," said Latif.

"Before him, there were the likes of Mark Boucher and Kumar Sangakkara," he concluded.