Who is the IPL player with the most stumpings?

Wicketkeepers need to keep their eyes on every ball bowled and remain alert. Stumping, in particular, requires tremendous mental alertness and is no mean feat. Spinners and wicketkeepers can often be seen working in partnership.

 Let us look at the player who owns the record for most stumpings in IPL

The mastermind behind the wickets!

When we think of some great wicket keepers, the first name that hits our brains is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. One man synonymous with brilliance in international cricket and the IPL is the former India captain, the captain cool, Goto player for all, MS Dhoni. He is the only captain to have won all three ICC trophies and has been exceptional as a skipper and a wicketkeeper-batsman in the IPL over the 12 editions. Not surprisingly, Dhoni, known for his excellent keeping skills, tops the list of most stumpings in the IPL. From leading the side to instructing his bowlers to anticipate the match situations to being lightning quick behind the stumps, MS Dhoni has been a class apart as a wicketkeeper.

Undoubtedly, he is one of the greatest to have ever played the game. Dhoni is in the twilight of his international career, but lightning-quick reflexes and great anticipating still make him one of the best. The 40-year-old has been phenomenal behind the stumps throughout his IPL career. Dhoni might be at the end of his IPL career, but his lightning-fast reflexes and excellent anticipation skills make him the best in the field. With 39 stumpings in 226 matches, Dhoni sits at the top of the pile in the list of most stumping dismissals by a wicketkeeper in IPL cricket. Add to that his 131 catches behind the stumps, which takes his overall tally to a staggering 170 in the T20 league.

A long wait for the first stumping!

 However, he had to wait for a while for his maiden stumping in the Indian Premier League. Dhoni couldn’t register a stumping on his name through the inaugural edition. He made his first stumping in their 2nd match of the second season against RCB. During the game at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, the CSK skipper caught Robin Uthappa short of his crease in the bowling of Muttiah Muralitharan. Dhoni’s 18th match of his IPL career and 12th match as a wicketkeeper in the league. This was also the first stumping by the Chennai Super Kings in the history of the IPL. The frequency of stumpings increased from 2010 as top-class spin bowlers began to represent the franchise. Moreover, the Chepauk track was not as tricky to bat in the earlier seasons as in recent times. Interestingly, MS Dhoni also missed a stumping in the bowling of Murali during CSK’s debut IPL match.

No one has entirely decoded IPL like the former CSK skipper and wicketkeeper. Known for his game-reading solid abilities from behind the stumps and take bold captaincy decisions that have won the team as many as four IPL titles, MS Dhoni is a prolific wicketkeeper and captain of the modern generation.