Mahendra Singh Dhoni sets new Asian record

Dhoni broke the record for most number of stumpings in Asian professional cricket

Indian limited-overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni broke the record for most number of stumpings in Asian professional cricket after he effected his 208th dismissal. He surpassed Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal when he stumped Shikhar Dhawan for his record dismissal during the Vijay Hazare Trophy’s 2nd Quarter-final match between Jharkhand and Delhi.  

The 34-year-old Dhoni set the record at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Former Sri Lankan keeper Kumar Sangakkara is third on the list with 204 stumpings.

Dhoni has a total of 137 international stumpings to his name, 38 stumpings in Tests, 88 in ODIs and 11 in Twenty20s. He is only second in the list for the most stumpings in international cricket behind Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakkara. The Sri Lankan has a total of 139 international stumpings to his name, 99 stumpings in Tests, 20 in ODIs and 20 in Twenty20s.

The Ranchi-born cricketer who retired from Test cricket in 2014 to focus on limited overs format.He will lead India in the upcoming series against Australia. Australia will host India in five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals in January 2016.

The hard-hitting batsman is considered to be one of India’s most successful captains. It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009. After that, he managed to lead India in a series-leveling world championship of Tests against the South Africans in February 2010.

He was the captain of the Indian team which won the ICC World Cup in 2011. In March 2013, Dhoni became the most successful Indian Test captain when he eclipsed Sourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests. India also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 under his leadership.

The right-handed batsman is also considered to be the best wicketkeeper-batsman of India. In 90 Test matches, he has scored 4876 runs with an average of 38.09. He has scored 8832 runs in 270 ODI appearances with an average of 52.26.

Dhoni was also the captain of the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings. Under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings have won two Indian Premier League titles and the 2010 Champions League Twenty20. He recently became the joint most expensive player in the Vivo IPL player draft, when he was picked up by the Pune franchise for a stunning INR 12.5 crore.