The “King of Helicopter Shots” in cricket is MS Dhoni, who popularized the iconic shot. Known for its unique wrist action, the helicopter shot revolutionized limited-overs cricket, showcasing Dhoni’s innovation and power.
What is a Helicopter Shot?
With its sheer audacity and power, the helicopter shot revolutionized the current era of limited-overs cricket when it first appeared. None other than the renowned cricket player Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped to popularize it.
With limited overs cricket at its peak, the best of bowlers like Lasith Malinga and Jasprit Bumrah have resorted to mastering the yorker ball as it leaves a batter with very little scope of hitting a boundary. To counter bowlers like them, Dhoni came up with the helicopter shot, which requires a combination of wristwork, timing, and strength.
A helicopter shot takes extraordinary hand-eye coordination, deft footwork, and a thorough comprehension of the bowler’s intent to execute this stroke. In order to propel the ball into the stands, the hitter must swing the bat with tremendous energy.
MS Dhoni’s best helicopter shot, and perhaps the most memorable one, was the one that won the Indian cricket team the ODI World Cup in 2011 after 28 years. India was on the verge of winning the trophy with Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh at the crease when Dhoni unleashed the helicopter shot to cement it in the cricketing folklore forever.
Of course, the helicopter shot can be countered by bowlers by varying their lengths and pace. As mentioned above, anticipation is a fundamental prerequisite for executing the helicopter shot to perfection and an unpredictable bowler will be a perfect foil to it.
Who taught MS Dhoni the Helicopter Shot?
MS Dhoni claims that his friend Santosh Lal created the helicopter shot, which he referred to as the “Thappad shot”. One can recall Santosh Lal’s role in Dhoni’s film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story was portrayed by Kranti Prakash Jha.
According to the movie, Santosh used to give Dhoni lessons on how to perform the “thappad shot” and ask him for some samosas. In addition to being a cricket player, Santosh Lal is said to played several games with Dhoni throughout their formative years.
However, due to his family obligations, Santosh Lal could not play cricket for a considerable amount of time, but Dhoni persisted with his goal of playing for Team India and eventually captained his country.
