Indian former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin introduced the “Helicopter Shot” a long way before the MS Dhoni did.
Indian former skipper MS Dhoni made a huge impact on Indian cricket history by becoming the first-ever captain to lift all three ICC trophies. Apart from his wicket-keeping skill former Indian cricketer made a huge impact in India’s batting order.
Playing in lower-order MSD made a massive impact by contributing some match-winning knock including World Cup 2011 finals.
Under MSD’s captaincy, India lifts the ICC world cup after 28 years. MS Dhoni gathered a massive fan base with his power-hitting style. One such power-hitting shot has been named as Helicopter Shot becomes very famous among cricket fans.
Mohammad Azharuddin Introduced Helicopter Shot
An exemplary example of Dhoni’s iconic helicopter shot was witnessed during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka at Wankhede, a moment which saw the Men In Blue lift their second World Cup trophy, since Kapil Dev’s 1983.
However, after Dhoni, many tried to emulate the wicketkeeper-batsman and some even succeeded in hitting the shot perfectly.
Before the shot became famous because of the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman, there was another former India skipper, Mohammad Azharuddin, who had a knack for pulverising the opposition bowlers with the helicopter.
Azharuddin, who himself was a great batsman, in a contest against South Africa had once smashed five consecutive fours to Proteas all-rounder Lance Klusener. Azharuddin’s carnage against Klusener also saw him play the helicopter shot.
Azharuddin, who is regarded as one of India’s most prolific captains, made his international debut in an ODI against England in 1985 and has led the country in 221 matches across formats.
Azharuddin has 99 Test and 334 ODI caps under his name and has amassed over 15,000 runs in both the formats combined, which include 29 hundreds and 79 fifties.
Also read: 47 Interesting MS Dhoni Records List in All formats
