MS Dhoni's masterful advice helped me dismiss Chris Gayle in IPL: Shahbaz Nadeem

Former Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni is widely considered to have one of the sharpest cricketing brains across the world. The 38-year-old is extremely good at reading the game. Moreover, being a wicketkeeper also gives him the opportunity to have a 360-degree view from the batsman's perspective. MS Dhoni has been spotted guiding bowlers on several occasions as to where to bowl to a particular batsman, especially when in trouble.

ALSO READ | IPL: Sachin Tendulkar consoles SRH star Rashid Khan after his mother passes away

IPL: Shabaz Nadeem reveals MS Dhoni's method to counter Chris Gayle

Recently, MS Dhoni's statemate Shahbaz Nadeem revealed how MS Dhoni advised him to bowl against West Indies’ explosive batsman Chris Gayle. While speaking to Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel, Shahbaz Nadeem said that he didn’t get a chance to bowl to Chris Gayle, who’s known for taking the left-arm spinners to the cleaners. Therefore, he developed the ‘Chinaman’ to get the better of the West Indies international.

ALSO READ | IPL: Sammy racism claims fuelled by Ishant Sharma's SRH post from 2014 resurfacing online

Nadeem further said that he always used to think that he would bowl the chinaman to Chris Gayle. He added that he practised the chinaman for two years just thinking about the Jamaican. Shahbaz Nadeem went on to reveal how he once met MS Dhoni during an edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and asked the CSK captain for a way to counter Chris Gayle. As MS Dhoni and Shahbaz Nadeem both play for the same team, i.e. Jharkhand, the former replied comically that the latter should consider himself lucky to not get to bowl at Chris Gayle one bit.

ALSO READ | IPL: Sammy alleges racism in IPL during SRH stint, says he mistook 'Kalu' for stallion

However, on a serious note, MS Dhoni advised Shahbaz Nadeem to not bowl to Chris Gayle in his 'arc'. MS Dhoni asked him to either bowl outside his range or close to his pads so that he takes a single. Nadeem also discussed with MS Dhoni about bowling the chinaman to Chris Gayle. Dhoni replied saying that it shouldn’t be a slow one as then the batsman would have enough time to adjust his strokes. Nadeem also went on to recall how he dismissed Chris Gayle with the same delivery when he was playing for the Delhi Daredevils (now the Delhi Capitals) against the Royal Challengers Bangalore as the batsman slapped the ball to deep midwicket, not timing the shot properly.

ALSO READ | Mahesh Babu names 3 favourite cricketers, excludes SRH captain David Warner from it

IMAGE COURTESY: SHABAZ NADEEM INSTAGRAM