MS Dhoni’s quickest stumpings are usually quoted at between 0.08 and 0.1 seconds, and the most famous of them is his dismissal of Keemo Paul against West Indies in 2018. Those figures come from television broadcast graphics, not from any official record: no governing body keeps a register of stumping speeds, so a “fastest stumping” cannot be checked the way a batting record can. They are best read as broadcast timings rather than ratified records.
What is on the record is the part that matters more. Dhoni made 195 stumpings in international cricket, more than any other wicketkeeper in international cricket — 56 clear of Kumar Sangakkara in second place. Figures complete to 15 September 2026; source ESPNcricinfo.
This page covers both: the three famous quick stumpings, and the stumping records that are actually measured.
MS Dhoni’s most famous fast stumpings
All three dismissals below are confirmed in the scorecards. The times beside them are the broadcast figures that were quoted at the time.
Keemo Paul, India v West Indies, 2018 — quoted at 0.08 seconds
The fourth ODI of the 2018 home series, at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on 29 October. India made 377 for 5 and West Indies were 153 all out, losing by 224 runs. Paul pushed forward to Ravindra Jadeja, the ball turned past the bat, and Dhoni had the bails off before the back foot came down. It was Dhoni’s only dismissal of the match, and it is the one usually cited as his quickest.
Mitchell Marsh, India v Australia, 2012 — quoted at 0.09 seconds
The second T20I of India’s 2012 tour, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 3 February. Marsh came down the pitch to the leg-spin of Rahul Sharma, missed, and was gone. Dhoni took three dismissals in that match, one of them this stumping.
Shubman Gill, IPL final, 2023 — quoted at 0.1 seconds
The IPL final at Ahmedabad on 28 May 2023, Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans, with Dhoni four years retired from international cricket. Gill overbalanced against Jadeja and Dhoni took the bails off as the back foot slid. He made two dismissals in the final, one catch and one stumping.
MS Dhoni’s stumping record
Dhoni kept wicket in 538 international matches between 2004 and 2019, taking 829 dismissals. The stumping column is where he stands alone.
| Format | Span | Mat | Dismissals | Catches | Stumpings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 2005-2014 | 90 | 294 | 256 | 38 |
| ODIs | 2004-2019 | 350 | 444 | 321 | 123 |
| T20Is | 2006-2019 | 98 | 91 | 57 | 34 |
| All internationals | 2004-2019 | 538 | 829 | 634 | 195 |
Of the 195, 192 were for India and three came in Afro-Asia Cup matches for an Asia XI side in 2007. He added a further 92 stumpings in franchise and domestic T20 cricket, almost all of it in the IPL, from 405 matches between 2006 and 2025.
Most stumpings in international cricket
The leading wicketkeepers by stumpings across all international cricket. Complete to 15 September 2026.
| Rank | Keeper | Team | Span | Mat | Stumpings | Total dismissals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MS Dhoni | India | 2004-2019 | 538 | 195 | 829 |
| 2 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 2000-2015 | 594 | 139 | 748 |
| 3 | Romesh Kaluwitharana | Sri Lanka | 1990-2004 | 238 | 101 | 326 |
| 3 | Mushfiqur Rahim | Bangladesh | 2005-2026 | 481 | 101 | 501 |
| 5 | Moin Khan | Pakistan | 1990-2004 | 288 | 93 | 435 |
| 6 | Adam Gilchrist | Australia | 1996-2008 | 396 | 92 | 905 |
| 7 | Kamran Akmal | Pakistan | 2002-2017 | 268 | 85 | 454 |
| 8 | Ian Healy | Australia | 1988-1999 | 287 | 68 | 628 |
The gap is the striking part. Dhoni has 40 per cent more stumpings than the next keeper on the list, and more than twice as many as Gilchrist, who took 76 more dismissals overall.
Where Dhoni holds the record, and where he does not
He leads the stumping list in both white-ball formats outright, but not in Tests.
| Format | Leader | Stumpings | Next |
|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | MS Dhoni | 123 | Kumar Sangakkara, 99 |
| T20Is | MS Dhoni | 34 | Kamran Akmal, 32 |
| Tests | Bert Oldfield (Australia) | 52 | Godfrey Evans 46, then Dhoni 38 |
The Test figure is not a weakness so much as a fact about eras and formats: Oldfield kept between 1920 and 1937, when almost every attack was built around spin and batters left their crease far more often. Dhoni’s 38 is still the most by an India keeper, level with Syed Kirmani.
He is also third on the all-time list for total international dismissals, behind Mark Boucher’s 999 and Gilchrist’s 905.
Why the stumpings, specifically?
Two things separate a stumping from a catch. The first is that it only becomes available when a spinner is bowling and the batter has committed forward or down the pitch, so it depends heavily on how much spin a keeper stands up to. Dhoni kept to Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra and Yuzvendra Chahal across fifteen years of Indian cricket, much of it on turning home pitches.
The second is the hands. A stumping is decided in the fraction of a second between the ball arriving and the batter’s back foot returning, and Dhoni did not break the movement into two actions the way most keepers do — the take and the break of the wicket ran together. That is what the broadcast timings were trying to capture, even if the numbers themselves were never an official measurement.
MS Dhoni fastest stumping: quick answers
What is MS Dhoni’s fastest stumping? The dismissal of Keemo Paul at the Brabourne Stadium in October 2018, widely quoted at 0.08 seconds from the broadcast graphic. There is no official record of stumping speeds, so the figure is not a ratified one.
Is 0.08 seconds an official record? No. No governing body times stumpings. The numbers quoted for Dhoni’s dismissals come from television replays and graphics.
How many stumpings does MS Dhoni have? 195 in international cricket — 38 in Tests, 123 in ODIs and 34 in T20Is — plus 92 in franchise and domestic T20 cricket.
Does Dhoni have the most stumpings ever? Yes, in international cricket. His 195 are well clear of Kumar Sangakkara’s 139.
Does he hold the Test stumping record? No. That is Australia’s Bert Oldfield with 52, ahead of Godfrey Evans on 46. Dhoni’s 38 is third, and the most by an India keeper.
How many dismissals did Dhoni take in total? 829 in international cricket, third behind Mark Boucher (999) and Adam Gilchrist (905).
Is MS Dhoni still playing? He last played for India in 2019, and his most recent T20 appearance was for Chennai Super Kings on 25 May 2025. He remains the only captain to have won the ODI World Cup, the T20 World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
See also our features on every Virat Kohli century, the most runs in T20 internationals and the rules of Test cricket.
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Photo credit: Alamy