He is so good, that he goes totally unnoticed

[King]

One take of the Dhoni off Anil Kumble yesterday seals his spot of the current best keeper in the world even better than Boucher or Gilly. Anil Kumble bowled a ball to B.Lee that pitched just about middle and off, turned big and sharp. Brett Lee was beaten all ends up and to my surprise Dhoni stood straight and took the ball comfortably next to his head right in the middle of the glove. That ball was bowled at about 100 k too. That is by far the best keeping skills I've seen from an Indian wicket keeper. Sure he took a lot of catches yesterday but that piece of keeping was just fantastic. Dhoni has done quite well world over from what I have seen. If none notices the keeper then he is doing a great job of course. Parthiv Patel stuffed so much in the last tour it wasn't funny. I haven't seen Kirmani much but S Vishwanath was a star wickie while he lasted. Pity he didn't last long enough. Mongia was not as good as Dhoni IMO. Mongia did peak for a couple of years but in the first year of his international cricket he wasn't the best going around.

[Cricketics]

Mongia was the best keeper India had !

he was in the team only because that time India weren't producing any good wicket keeperz..

[Desi Cartman]

he was in the team only because that time India weren't producing any good wicket keeperz..

He didnt drop many catches and he was ok with the bat as well Too bad he fixed matches though :finger:

[theguyinallblue]

i am not sure if Dhoni is best ever.. But i am very happy and satisfied with his performance as a wicketkeeper....

[Donny]

I know this may sound a bit premature' date=' but me thinks Dhoni is the BEST Indian keeper, EVER and just in case you had some doubts, no no, I am not high.[/quote'] Premature, maybe. Best keeper EVER ? How many have you seen, mm ?

Adam Gilchrist himself had dropped many sitters in the second test.

Many sitters ?? How do you work that out ? Your exaggerations are reaching CC1981 proportions. :regular_smile: Are you high ?

[MundaPakistani]

Premature, maybe. Best keeper EVER ? How many have you seen, mm ? Many sitters ?? How do you work that out ? Your exaggerations are reaching CC1981 proportions. :regular_smile: Are you high ?

Very disappointing! CC has always respected you more than any other poster and this is at least the 2nd time in the last few days that you have tried to take a cheap shot at him. I have great respect for you and your passion for the game but please be a bit more considerate.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[beetle]

I didn't see the 2nd days play.Saw the hightlights and it lookedlike a dhoni catches hightlight......looked good!

[Ranvir]

Dhoni's wicket keeping in the world cup was atrocious. I think he dropped some good chances against Bangladesh. In fact his whole performance was crap in that tournament.

[Guest HariSampath]

Syed Kirmani by a LONG way...in case those who havent seen Kirry keep wkts.....no way ANYONE could matchup to Kirry when it came to diving in front of 2nd slip to bring off a blinder, or to legslip. Even when keeping up to the top Indian spin legends, Kirmani used to bring off lightning stumpings. On the batting front Kirmani had saved numerous tests by his bating alone and even helped win a fee. Syed Kirmani . But Dhoni will get to this level very soon, in 2-3 seasons.

[Gambit]

Mongia was the best among the ones I've seen.

[Guest HariSampath]

^...as a Keeper/batsman...Dhoni will be a very good allrounder in tests within 2-3 years...in ODIs Dhoni is a class apart and of course #1 by a long way

[Gambit]

^...as a Keeper/batsman...Dhoni will be a very good allrounder in tests within 2-3 years...in ODIs Dhoni is a class apart and of course #1 by a long way

Pure keeping skills.

[Ram]

Of course, I should have mentioned in the OP that Dhoni is the best amongst the ones I have seen. My memory Indian keepers starts with Vijay Yadav, to Mongia and all the other pretenders like MSK Prasad, Sameer Dighe, Dahiya, Deep Dasgupta, Parthiv Patel. I would definitely say Dhoni is the best amongst this group. Some would say Mongia was not too bad either. Yes, he was reliable, safe against spinners, but he had zero athletic abilities. I cant recollect Mongia EVER getting his feet off the ground or diving with his body parallel to the ground to take a catch. This is where Dhoni scores over him. A good keepers is not only one who takes all the easy chances, but also one who takes the brilliant ones. And less said about the batting of these guys, the better. Dhoni will hold his place in the team as a batsman alone.

[Brainfade]

Based on pure keeping skills, it has to be Kirmani (OP is too young to know :-)!!). When you throw batting into the equation, Dhoni rises to the top. Kirmani was not chopped liver with the bat, but Dhoni has been more productive for sure. I loved to watch Kirmani bat - zero backlift, he frustrated the heck out of the fielding team. I clearly remember when he and Ghavri once put on 100+ runs against the Aussies (I was 9 or 10 years old then) in Mumbai. We declared when SMHK got his 100. What a knock. Ghavri scored 86. Of course, Australia's best bowler on that tour was Geoff Dymock!!

[yoda]

Dhoni's batting this series has been at Kirmani's level.

[DesiChap]

Kirmani was the best India keeper by a long shot. Dhoni might get there, we can discuss in about 5 seasons. That being said Kirmani in this era would have been dumped for batting. These days Keepers have to bat with a 3r run average.

[observer1]

Rod Marsh sounded good on the radio, MM

[DesiChap]

Ian Healy: Dhoni has much to gain from this tour - Former Aussie wicketkeeper feels Gilchrist can continue for as long as he wants LOKENDRA PRATAP SAHIA TELEGRAPH SPECIAL

Perth: Ian Healy was, for years, the most successful wicketkeeper in Test cricket. On Friday, the 43-year-old spoke to The Telegraph. The following are excerpts On his impressions of Mahendra Singh Dhoni I first saw him in Sri Lanka during a limited overs tournament in 2005 and I’ve been impressed with the way he’s developed as a person and as a ’keeper... It’s remarkable that he’s even led India (in ODIs and Twenty20) while his own game is developing... On the importance of the ongoing tour for Dhoni It’s one big learning curve for him... This tour, perhaps, is where he’ll learn the most and I must say it has come at the right time for him. On Dhoni, at one time, having been a strong contender for the Test captaincy too It’s good that your selectors didn’t give him that responsibility... ’Keeping to (Anil) Kumble and worrying about what others are doing would’ve been too much for Dhoni... Kumble won’t be around for too long and, so, it’s good that Dhoni has got this opportunity to work with such a senior pro... Dhoni, as I see it, has much to gain from this tour. On his experience of having captained in ODIs, in a stand-in capacity I did feel I had to do too many things... Captaincy probably won’t make a difference if you’re steamrolling opponents and if you don’t have to ’keep to many spinners... But, if you’ve got a fight on your hands, then it’s definitely going to be tough. On Adam Gilchrist who, at 36, isn’t getting any younger He can continue for as long as he wants... We’ve had a pretty easy 12 months, but there’s lots of cricket in the next 12... If he has the energy and is playing for the right reasons, then he can continue beyond next summer too. On whether, in the lead-up to his retirement (in 1999), he’d grown tired mentally Indeed, yes... It became a mental thing... I’d stopped enjoying practice, when my game was built around a solid preparation... Then, there was the pressure of having to perform day in and day out and not make mistakes... That began getting to me... I also started feeling it physically. On Australia’s current No.2 ’keeper, Brad Haddin I rate him extremely highly and he’s as competent as any in the world. However if Gilchrist continues for, say, two-three seasons then the selectors will probably need to get somebody younger. On Mark Boucher, the most successful ’keeper He’s good and is a fierce competitor... Besides, he has quite a few years left in him... On ’keepers today being more conscious that they’ve got to be good batters as well I think this trend began in the 1970s... Having said that, you still need to be making dismissals and not missing dismissals. Left to me I wouldn’t sacrifice any ’keeping quality for the sake of a few runs... For me, it has to be an out and out specialist. On the skills needed by a ’keeper The ’keeper has to be technically sound otherwise his game will come apart at the highest level... He’s got to have agility and should be able to set fielding standards... The basic skills have to be displayed ball in and ball out... Indeed, everybody can’t ’keep... On whether one has to be born a ’keeper The qualities have to be recognised early and, then, developed... The ’keeper has to be a pretty natural catcher and a pretty natural mover... The natural instincts have to be moulded into ’keeping techniques... One needs time to develop. On working with the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane I work with the country’s elite ’keepers there... Besides, I’m available for individuals... Tomorrow, if Dhoni wants to have a chat, I’ll be available. On whether there’s a standout ’keeper on the circuit Gilchrist’s as good as any and I quite like Sri Lanka’s Prasanna Jayawardene... In the years to come, he’ll be talked about in a big way. On the dearth of standout ’keepers (Smiles) Don’t know why... Could be because there’s too much cricket... Could be because, nowadays, the ’keepers are less flamboyant... Difficult to pin a reason. On whether that could be because the present-day ’keepers are probably paying more attention to their batting I think so, but that can’t be an excuse... On a ’keeper constantly having to remain in the switched-on mode With so much responsibility, you can’t afford not to... Mental toughness, for me, is the ability to watch the ball when the pressure’s on and to react. Finally, his message to budding ’keepers Watch the ball... If you’re doing that and moving well, you can rarely go wrong.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080119/jsp/sports/story_8801572.jsp

[The Outsider]

Kirmani's keeping was not a lot below some of the very best keepers there have been like Knott. For someone who perhaps never kept to any serious pace and swing in his growing years, his keeping and feet movement to Kapil was simply superb.