MS Dhoni surpasses AB de Villiers on the list of most fielding dismissals in T20Is

Veteran Indian cricketer MS Dhoni has made it a habit to be in the record books. He recently went past South African cricketer AB de Villiers in the list of cricketers with most dismissals as a fielder in the history of T20Is. Dhoni achieved the feat during the recently concluded T20I against Sri Lanka at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. During the course of the game, MS Dhoni was kept busy throughout.

He accounted for four dismissals in the innings. This included a couple of stumpings and an equal number of catches. Earlier in the match, Dhoni was in phenomenal hitting form as well. It was his late flourish that helped team India post a mammoth total on the board. Dhoni remained unbeaten on 39 off 22 deliveries and he hit a six off the last ball of the innings. This, too, was a record in itself.

Coming back to the record for most dismissals, MS Dhoni now has 74 dismissals to his name in 84 matches. This included 47 catches and 27 stumpings. Needless to conceded, those stumpings must have been lighting quick. Next in the list is AB de Villiers, who has 72 dismissals in 78 matches thus far. Pakistan’s veteran wicketkeeper, Kamran Akmal, is number three in the list with 60 dismissals to his name in 58 matches. Surprisingly, he has 32 stumpings in those 60 dismissals.

The number of stumpings done by Akmal are more than the number of catches he has taken. Afghanistan’s Mohammad Shehzad, who is already a big name in T20Is, is fourth in the list with 52 dismissals in 58 games. At number 5 is Windies wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin. He has accounted for 51 dismissals in 58 matches.

Others in the fray

The other five players in this list of top 10 players are Pakistan’s Umar Akmal (51), Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim (47), Sri Lanka’s former cricketer Kumar Sangakkara (45), former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum (44), and Kiwi batsman Ross Taylor (42).

Table: Most fielding dismissals in T20Is