I will pay to watch Dhoni in action, says Gilchrist

[Xuhaib]

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatim...ow/3491445.cms

MUMBAI: Perhaps MS Dhoni would cherish this even more than the ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year award he won recently. Adam Gilchrist, arguably the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman ever and the idol of millions of cricketers including that of the Indian ODI captain, says he is willing to pay to watch Dhoni bat.

"One of the biggest compliments I ever received was when my fans told me they could pay to watch me bat. I am willing to do the same for Dhoni," Gilchrist said on Tuesday. He was in the city for a promotional function for Woolongong University, of which the Aussie is a brand ambassador.

On the evidence of what Gilly spoke, though, it seemed that he was a brand ambassador for Mahi. "The award is thoroughly well-deserved. I can't praise Dhoni enough. He has led India as a wicketkeeper-batsman. And he has done it successfully, which is so tough considering the expectations here."

Gilchrist also bracketed Dhoni in the 'Fab Four' league and said India now have a Fab Five. And it's not just the batting that has impressed Gilchrist. His keeping earned praise too. "By experience, I can say that it's not easy to keep wickets to the spinners in the sub-continent. But Dhoni has done it well."

Talking about the India-Australia Test series, Gilchrist admitted the visitors would find it tough to do what they achieved in 2004. "There are many challenges that face this team, no doubt. It's not as experienced as the Aussie teams that have come here for the last 10-12 years. However, the youngsters in this team do have an idea about the Indian conditions."
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Kinda over the top comment, I like Dhoni but pay to watch comments should be elusive to talents like Sachin, Lara, Akram, Warne, Ambrose, etc.

[four_or_six]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

I will pay to watch Dhoni in action, says Gilchrist

Gilly's hardly short of a few bob though.

[Richard]

Dunno, each to their own. Dhoni in ODIs is unquestionably one of the best, purely as a batsman. If he can continue on the way he's started his career he'll be easily the best ODI batsman-wicketkeeper in history, taking the slot from Gilchrist.

[Indipper]

Sure knows where his bread is buttered.

[Rickripper]

What is it about Dhoni that makes him a much better ODI batsman than test batsman? He's not a slogger by any means.

[2freddie]

Originally Posted by Rickripper

What is it about Dhoni that makes him a much better ODI batsman than test batsman? He's not a slogger by any means.

i havent watched him as much in tests, but i hear hes a fraction of the player at times. i dont know why that is really, perhaps he feels more free to express himself knowing his team will need runs quicker then normal.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Rickripper

What is it about Dhoni that makes him a much better ODI batsman than test batsman? He's not a slogger by any means.

Nor were Nick Knight, Graeme Hick or Neil Fairbrother.

[Rickripper]

True, but none of them had a long spell in the test side, Hick played a lot of games, but he was always getting dropped and recalled. Dhoni has been India's first choice test WK for a number of years now, yet he's got a modest average and just the one century.

[Richard]

Hick and Knight both had a fair few runs in the side, Knight had one long enough to tell he obviously wasn't Test-class, and Hick had a run for 3 years where he averaged the best part of 50. For the rest of the time he mostly averaged about 14, and however much you protestate about continuity, if someone is doing nothing at all over 4 of 5 consecutive games you simply have to drop them.

Fairbrother, well no, he didn't ever get a particularly fair run, but nor did he do a thing in the games he played to suggest he deserved one.

[Top_Cat]

Well, as indipper said, Gilly is playing the game a bit here I reckon but, that said, Dhoni's transformation has been amazing. From being a flashy, slap-happy slogger to a really thoughtful placer of the ball (and only bringing his scoring rate down a bit from stratospheric to sane) who can still hit the pill around when in the mood. Plus being the captain. Good on him, need more characters like him.

[Polo23]

Is it just me, or is Dhoni way less explosive than what he was made out to be early in his career? I thought he was a powerful bloke who cleared the ropes at will, but whenever I have seen him bat he has actually struggled to clear the ropes.

[Burgey]

Playing a different role now to a few years ago, ITTBT.

[anoop4real]

Dhoni is not a powerful batsmen as compared to Gilli.......but Dhoni has some improvised shots like rowing in a boat ......which is fun to watch

[SJS]

Originally Posted by Polo23

Is it just me, or is Dhoni way less explosive than what he was made out to be early in his career? I thought he was a powerful bloke who cleared the ropes at will, but whenever I have seen him bat he has actually struggled to clear the ropes.

You are damn right he has. And this is just about a year old. The start of the England tour in July last year marked the change in Dhoni's batting. I had commented on it then.

One hears a lot about how this is because he has matured as a batsman and is playing more responsibly. Well it hasn't helped his stats and he isn't scoring more runs.

Here are his stats since then in Tests.

Particulars	Pre-Jun '07        Post-Jun '07
Tests Played	         17             12
Runs Scored	         810           	608
4's & 6's %	        66.4          	53.6
Strike Rate 	        74.9          	52.3
Batting Avg	        33.8          	33.8
50 + scores	        5               4
100 + scores	        1               0

[honestbharani]

Originally Posted by SJS

You are damn right he has. And this is just about a year old. The start of the England tour in July last year marked the change in Dhoni's batting. I had commented on it then.

One hears a lot about how this is because he has matured as a batsman and is playing more responsibly. Well it hasn't helped his stats and he isn't scoring more runs.

Here are his stats since then in Tests.

Particulars	Pre-Jun '07        Post-Jun '07
Tests Played	         17             12
Runs Scored	         810           	608
4's & 6's %	        66.4          	53.6
Strike Rate 	        74.9          	52.3
Batting Avg	        33.8          	33.8
50 + scores	        5               4
100 + scores	        1               0

I am not sure about his value as a batsman in tests but in ODIs, he is definitely amongst the top pile for me. Still to prove himself against a team like Australia, but my gut feeling is that it is more of a coincidence than any real inability. He does have problem handling real pace (like 150+) but he is hardly alone in that amongst these batsmen, right?