'Very impressive' - Sheldon Jackson's wicketkeeping gets Twitter going in IPL 2022 season opener

The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced on Saturday (March 26) with the game between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). All the eyes were on the superstar players on show for the game but one man who stole the limelight while going about his job was Sheldon Jackson. The man finally got a chance to play his first IPL game since 2017 and his wicketkeeping grabbed attention right away.

The first glimpse of Sheldon Jackson’s wicketkeeping was witnessed when Robin Uthappa missed a flick and went off-balance off Varun Chakaravarthy. It was a wide delivery but Jackson disturbed the bails off in a flash to garner praise even from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. The former India cricketer compared him to MS Dhoni after watching the stumping.

Jackson was involved in the game for whole innings

The excitement on Sheldon Jackson’s face was completely visible as he was thoroughly involved in the game right from the word go. Some of his takes down the leg were also impressive and he also kept well for the likes of Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine who are difficult to pick with their mystery spin.

Sheldon Jackson also tried to stump MS Dhoni when the latter missed one of the deliveries from the spinners. Though the batter was back safely inside the crease, the 35-year-old’s efforts were excellent. With this impressive showing, Sheldon Jackson might have sealed his place in the side for the season and he deserves every bit of it given the amount of time he was out of action in IPL unfortunately.

Meanwhile, CSK managed to post 131 runs on the board on the back of MS Dhoni’s vintage 50 off 38 balls. In short, it was a show of the wicketkeepers from either side in the IPL 2022 season opener. Having said that, Jackson will have to prove his mettle with the bat as well which will definitely help him play all the matches this season.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Dear #SheldonJackson please wear a helmet when u keeping to spinners ! You are a very talented player and have a golden opportunity after a long time be safe !!! And all the best #CSKvKKR #IPL2022

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) March 26, 2022

After @y_umesh super start, @ShelJackson27 stumping! Kolkata is setting the tone for this game. #KKRvCSK #CSKvKKR

— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) March 26, 2022

That was an outstanding stumping. @ShelJackson27’s speed reminded me of @msdhoni.

Lightning fast!! ⚡️#CSKvKKR

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 26, 2022

Very impressed with #SheldonJackson wicket keeping 👍👍👍 #IPL2022 #CSKvKKR

— JAYESH KUMAR SINGH (@JKS212509) March 26, 2022

@ShelJackson27 got some really good hands. Being myself played as wicket keeper for whatever cricket I've played their are small number of wks I admire. Sheldon Jackson has joined that list for me.

— Himanshu Gupta (@Himansh84843084) March 26, 2022

@ShelJackson27 has already impressed and he's yet to bat. #CSKvKKR #KKRvCSK #IPL2022 #IPL

— Shubham Khare (@shubhamkhare71) March 26, 2022

Sheldon Jackson stump was amazing!
He reminds me of Dhoni🥺#IPL pic.twitter.com/mhgt489HYJ

— Anuj Dagar🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@TheAnujDagar) March 26, 2022

What a stumping!!

Sheldon Jackson did an amazing job.

— Shivani Shukla 🏏 (@iShivani_Shukla) March 26, 2022

Sheldon Jackson has been very sharp. #IPL2022

— Sreshth Shah (@sreshthx) March 26, 2022

Top stumping, Sheldon Jackson, not foreign to him, even though some claim he is.#IPL2022 #KKRvsCSK

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) March 26, 2022