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MS Dhoni believes he isn’t a ‘good fielder’ without big gloves

MS Dhoni may not be the best keeper against pace as he does not dive but his fast hands against spinners make him amongst the best wicketkeepers. Also his smartness and presence of mind while affecting run outs is unmatched.

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Barring the two ODI series against listless Zimbabwean side, India have not won a One-Day International (ODI) series in almost last two years. India’s last series win against a major side was against Sri Lanka in November 2014, the series where Rohit Sharma smashed 264. Questions have been asked on MS Dhoni’s leadership, as the results are not coming in this format. India lost the fourth ODI against New Zealand and the series stands 2-2 with the decider to be played at Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The Indian skipper was asked some tough questions after the defeat in his hometown at Ranchi.  FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs New Zealand, 4th ODI at Ranchi

Virat Kohli scored heavily in two chases in this series and India won both games. Dhoni was asked if the side is over reliant on his deputy Kohli’s batting. A report from Times of India quoted him answering: “Stats don’t tell you the full story. We have not played too many ODIs in the last one and a half years and during that period there was one series against Zimbabwe. When we did play a lot of the times our top-order batted beautifully. So you can’t really say that. We do have other batsmen who can also do the job.”

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Dhoni also put his weight behind the youngsters and said that it is not easy chasing in these kinds of surfaces and it is a “learning curve” for the inexperienced players in the side.

The 35-year-old had to face another interesting question. With age not being on his side, he was asked if he would like to give up the wicketkeeping gloves and consider playing as a specialist batsman. Dhoni answered it in his trademark style.

“Who’ll field for me? I’m not a good enough fielder without the gloves,” he remarked.

Dhoni may not be the best keeper against pace as he does not dive but his fast hands against spinners make him amongst the best wicketkeepers. Also his smartness and presence of mind while affecting run outs is unmatched. This was a classic example.

Glad Dhoni did not call the reporter beside him and asked him, “Did you see that run out?”

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