MS Dhoni

At 43 years old, MS Dhoni has this physical status:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (born 7 July 1981), also known as MS Dhoni, captained India's national team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2016 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014.

India defeated the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the 2010 and 2016 Asia Cups, as well as the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

Dhoni, a right-handed middle-order batsman and wicketkeeper, is one of the highest run scorers in One Day Internationals (ODI) with more than 10,000 runs scored, and is considered a "finisher" in limited-overs styles.

He made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in December 2004 and played his first Test against Sri Lanka a year later.

Dhoni has been the recipient of many awards, including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first player to win the award twice), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2009, India's fourth highest civilian award, and India's third highest civilian award in 2018.

In 2009, 2010, 2010 and 2013, he was named as the captain of the ICC World Test XI.

Early life and background

Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) and hails from a Hindu Rajput family with roots in Uttarakhand. He is the youngest of three children of Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. Lwali, his paternal village, lives in the Almora district of Uttarakhand's Jainti Tehsil, Lamgara block. His parents migrated from Uttarakhand to Ranchi, Jharkhand, where his father served as a pump operator in MECON Colony, located in Ranchi's Doranda district. Unlike Dhoni, his uncle and cousins all pronounce their surname as Dhauni.

Previously Dhoni was the goalkeeper for his DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir school's football team, but after seeing his goalkeeping abilities, coach Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, who inspired Dhoni to play cricket, invited him to play cricket, he picked him to play cricket for his school team. His outstanding wicketkeeping abilities enabled him to play as a regular wicketkeeper at the Commando Cricket Club (1995-1998). Based on his results at club cricket, he was selected for the 1997/98 Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship, where he did well.

Dhoni served as a Traveller Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station (W), a district in West Bengal, from 2001 to 2003.

Personal life

Lwali, which is in the taluka of Jaiti, is his ancestral village in the Uttarakhand state's Almora district. The village has a population of 20 to 30 people. Pan Singh Dhoni, his father, left the village in 1970 in search of work. He eventually settled in Ranchi. Dhanpat Singh Dhauni and his cousin Hayat Singh Dhauni still live in Lwali.

On July 4, 2010, he married Sakshi Singh Rawat.

The wedding took place in Dehradun, one day after the couple proposed. One daughter is with Dhoni and his partner.

Dhoni is a fan of the Indian Army. "It's childhood I wanted to join the Army," Dhoni said while staying in Ranchi. I thought one day would be the same as the soldiers.

In India, Cements Ltd, he holds the position of vice president marketing. Former BCCI president and IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings owner N. Srinivasan leads the company.

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Early career

Dhoni was selected by Deval Sahay, a former Bihar Cricket Association Vice President and Ranchi District Cricket President, to represent the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team in 1998. Dhoni, a 12th grade student, had never played professional cricket before 1998. At CCL, he had a chance to bat higher up the order, where he did an outstanding job, which had helped CCL advance to the A division. Deval Sahay, who was captivated by his work, applied for his appointment in the Bihar team. Within a year, Dhoni joined the Ranchi team, the junior Bihar cricket team, and eventually the senior Bihar Ranji team.

Dhoni was a member of the United Kingdom Bihar team and scored 176 runs in five matches (7 innings) in the 1998-99 Cooch Behar Trophy. Bihar placed fourth in the group of six, but did not make it to the quarter-finals. Dhoni was not selected for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) or Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). The Bihar U-19 cricket team made it to the finals of the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy, where Dhoni's 84 helped Bihar post a total of 357. Despite this, Bihar's efforts were thwarted by Punjab's 839, with Dhoni's future teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358. Dhoni's participation in the tournament included 488 runs (9 wickets, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches, and 7 stumpings. In the 1999–2000 season, Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy, but he only scored 97 runs in four games, placing fifth in the tournament.

In the 1999–2000 season, Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar as an eighteen-year-old. In the second innings against Assam cricket team, he scored 68* in his debut match. Dhoni completed the season with 283 runs in 5 games. Dhoni scored his first-class century for Bihar against Bengal in the 2000/01 season, but this match came as draw: Dhoni, who played for Bihar against Bengal in the 2000/01 season, had no goals in four Ranji matches, and he did not record another score over 50 points in the 2000/01 season.

As he began receiving recognition for his lower-order service as well as his hard-hitting batting style, Dhoni's results in the 2002–03 season included three half-centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a handful of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy. Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI tournament in 2003-04. Dhoni was a member of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy in 2003-2004 season and finished with 244 runs in four games, including a century (114) against the Central Zone.

Dhoni was selected over international cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East Zone in the Duleep Trophy finals. In the second innings of a losing cause, he had a fighting half-century. Through the BCCI's small-town talent spotting program TRDW, Dhoni's talent was discovered. When Dhoni saw Dhoni play for Jharkhand at a match in Jamshedpur in 2003, he was informed by TRDO Prakash Poddar, Bengal's captain, when he watched him play for Jharkhand.

He was praised for his contributions in the 2003-04 season, particularly in the One Day style, and he was selected for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. With 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort in the season. Dhoni was instrumental in the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India, A, and Pakistan A, helping India A beat Pakistan A's target of 223 against Pakistan A with a half-century. Continuing his good work, he scored back to back centuries by scoring 120 and 119* against the same team. Dhoni's career in 6 innings averaged 72.40, and the then Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri were among the others, paid attention to him.

International career

Rahul Dravid was the wicketkeeper for the Indian ODI team in the early 2000s to ensure that the wicketkeeper spot did not lack in batting skills. Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik, both India U-19 captains, were among the team's test squads, with Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik (both India U-19 captains) named in the Test squads. He was chosen in the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05, with Dhoni making a name for himself in the India A squad. Dhoni was off to a slow start to his ODI career, losing a duck on debut. Despite an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was chosen for the Pakistan ODI series.

Dhoni, his fifth one-day international, scored 148 in Visakhapatnam off only 123 deliveries in his second match of the series. Dhoni's 148 tied for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper, a record that he would re-write before the year is over.

In the first two games of the Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series (October–November 2005), Dhoni had few batting opportunities and was promoted to No. 58. At Sawai Mansingh Stadium (Jaipur), the three ODI begins on the third ODI. After a Kumar Sangakkara century, Sri Lanka set India a target of 299, but India lost Tendulkar early in response. Dhoni was allowed to boost the scoring and ended the game with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the match for India. In Wisden Almanack (2006), the innings was described as 'Uninhibited but still crude.' The innings set new records, including the highest individual score in ODI cricket in the second innings, a record that was only broken after seven years by Shane Watson. Dhoni retired with the highest run total (366) and was named Man of the Series for his efforts. The BCCI awarded Dhoni a B-grade job in December 2005.

In India's first match against Pakistan, the country scored 328 in 50 overs with Dhoni scoring 68. The team did poorly in the last eight overs, scoring only 43 runs in the last eight overs, and losing the match due to the Duckworth-Lewis method. Dhoni appeared in India in a precarious situation and scored 72 runs off just 46 balls, with 13 boundaries, helping India take the lead in the series. Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls to help India win the series 4–1. Dhoni defeated Ricky Ponting as the top batsman in the ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen on April 20, becoming the first batsman to do so in 42 innings, due to his consistent ODI results. Adam Gilchrist's reign lasted just a week as his victory against Bangladesh pushed him to the top of the charts.

Two sets of cricket in Sri Lanka were cancelled, one due to South Africa's withdrawal from the Unitech Cup due to security concerns, and the replacement three-match ODI bilateral series against Sri Lanka was cancelled due to rain. Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. India's lack of preparation showed up in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, losing to West Indies and Australia, but Dhoni scored a half-century against West Indies. The story of the ODI series in South Africa was similar for both Dhoni and India as Dhoni scored 139 runs in four matches, and India lost the series 4–0. Dhoni had played 16 games, scored just two fifties, and averaged 25.93, from the start of the West Indies ODI series. Former wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani's comments regarding his wicket-keeping tactics had been criticized by Dhoni. However, the ICC named him in the World ODI XI for his 2006 appearances.

Preparations for the 2007 Cricket World Cup continued as India defeated West Indies and Sri Lanka in a series with a total of 103 points. In both series, Dhoni had averages in excess of 100.

After losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage, India unexpectedly dropped out of the World Cup. In both of these games, Dhoni was out for a duck but total runs were only 29 runs in the tournament. The house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalized and destroyed by JMM political activists following Bangladesh's loss in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. As India exited the World Cup in the first round, the local police arranged for protection for his family.

After India was left in a tight spot earlier in the run-chase, Dhoni put his poor showings in the World Cup behind him by scoring 91* against Bangladesh. For his result, Dhoni was named Man of the Match, his fourth appearance in ODI cricket. Since the third game of the series was played away, he was also named Man of the Series. In the third ODI, Dhoni had a good Afro-Asia Cup, scoring 174 runs in three matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out off 97 balls, a Man of the Match innings.

Dhoni was named vice captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England seven-match ODI series. In June 2007, Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade job in December 2005, was given a 'A' grade rating. In September 2007, he was also elected captain of the Indian squad for the World Twenty20. Dhoni set a new personal record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching five English players and stumping one on September 2.

Dhoni scored 124 runs in 107 balls in the second ODI and scored 71 runs in 95 balls in the third ODI during the match between India and Australia in 2009. India took the third ODI by 6 wickets, along with Yuvraj Singh's 78 off the 96 runs. Dhoni took his first and only wicket in international cricket on September 30, 2009. Travis Dowlin of the West Indies was bowled by him during a 2009 ICC Champions Trophy match.

In 2009, Dhoni ranked No. 1 in the ICC ODI Batsman rankings for several months. Michael Hussey from Australia jumped to the top of the charts at the start of 2010.

Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009, scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings, at a much more balanced rate of 70.43. Dhoni was also the joint top-scoringer in ODIs in 2009, alongside Ricky Ponting, but the former player had only played 30 innings. He was appointed captain and wicketkeeper of the World ODI XI by the ICC in 2009 for his work in 2009.

For the first time in five years, Pakistan toured India in 2012 for a bilateral series. In the three-match ODI series, Dhoni top-scored for India in all three innings; however, India lost the series 1–2. He helped India recover from 29/5 to 227 in 50 overs in the first ODI at Chennai. Scoring 113 not out, he had a long association with Ravichandran Ashwin, although India had lost.

Dhoni became the first and only captain of international cricket to win all ICC trophies after winning the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. He was out for a duck in the rain-shortened final against England and ended the season with 27 runs from two innings. However, Dhoni's field placements and tactics were to India's advantage, as the team had defeated the opposition by five runs (D/L method). The ICC had also named him as captain and wicketkeeper of the 'Team of the Tournament.'

India toured West Indies for a tri-nation tournament against West Indies and Sri Lanka right after the Champions Trophy. Dhoni had been hospitalized early in the tournament itself and was ruled out for the entire tournament. Despite not fully recovered, he returned to face Sri Lanka in the final, only to find himself a hero after guiding India to a victory by one wicket. While scoring 16 runs in the final over required for the victory, Dhoni scored an unbeaten 45 off 52 balls. For this appearance, he was named Man of the match.

After Sachin Tendulkar's to score 1,000 or more ODI-runs against Australia in November 2013, Dhoni became the second India batsman after him.

In the 2013-14 season, India toured South Africa and New Zealand, with the result that both series, 0–2 and 0–4, respectively, was lost. Dhoni managed 84 runs against South Africa, with one of them being a half-century. He took 272 runs against New Zealand, including three straight 50-plus scores. In the third match of the series, his knock of 50 helped India tie the game and eventually preventing a series of whitewash. In the meantime, he scored his 8000th run in ODI cricket on the tour.

India won the away ODI series in England in 2014 by 3–1 and a series against the West Indies in India by a 2–1 margin. In each of the series, Dhoni had success as he reached a half-century.

India's preparations going into the tournament seemed to be weak, with India's Lavatory in Australia failing to win a single match, with Dhoni himself managing 70 runs from three innings and averaging 23.34.

Dhoni became the first Indian captain to win all group stage matches in such a tournament during the 2015 Cricket World Cup. India defeated Pakistan and South Africa (whom they hadn't defeated before in a World Cup game) and Zimbabwe, West Indies, Ireland, and Zimbabwe. He made 85 not out chasing 288 and had an unbeaten match with Suresh Raina in Eden Park. This is the highest score on New Zealand soil by an Indian captain. He defeated Bangladesh in the quarter finals, becoming the third non-Australian captain to win 100 ODI matches. He made 65 as India was unable to defend their title in a tumultuous attempt against eventual champions Australia in the semi-finals. Dhoni, on the other hand, did a good job with the bat, scoring 237 runs in 6 innings for an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 102.15, making him the second Indian captain to have an average over 50 runs per month and a strike rate above 100 in a particular season of the World Cup.

In January 2017, Dhoni resigned as India's limited over formats, just days before the ODI series against England was set to begin at home against England. He scored 134 off 122 balls, including a 256-run partnership for the fourth wicket in the second game of the series. It was his first appearance in over three years, and it was his tenth in ODIs. At the 2017 Champions Trophy by Cricbuzz, he was named as a wicketkeeper of the 'Team of the Tournament.' By Cricbuzz, he was also ranked in the ODI XI of the year.

He stumped Akila Dananjaya off Yuzvendra Chahal in August this year during the fifth and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo, defeating Kumar Sangakkara. In February 2018, he reached a new height of triggering 400 dismissals in ODIs following Aiden Markram's stumping in the third ODI of South Africa tour.

During his team's 2018 tour, Dhoni ran in the second ODI against England, becoming the fourth Indian and twelfth overall to do so. He had a weak run in two innings with a strike rate of 63.20. Two poor results in the ODI format followed him; the Asia Cup, which saw him finish with 77 runs in four innings at an average of 19.25, and the home series against the West Indies, where he aggregated 50 runs from three innings. Dhoni was allowed to rest, but not able to be chosen for the T20I squads for the series that followed and the Australia tour later this season. However, he was chosen in the squad for the ODI series that was based in the United States. In all three games, Dhoni displayed form and scored half-centuries, with the former two resulting in victories, assisting India in winning a 2–1 series on Australian soil. Dhoni earned 193 runs and was named player of the series. He was also the fourth Indian to reach more than 1,000 ODI runs.

He was drafted in India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in April 2019. Dhoni played in his 350th ODI in India's semi-final match against New Zealand in July 2019.

Following his one-day appearance against Sri Lanka, Dhoni was named as the Indian team's Test wicket-keeper in December 2005. In his debut match, Dhoni scored 30 runs, but rain interrupted it. When the team first dropped wickets, he was a tenacious cricketer in which he was the last man to be dismissed. In the second Test, Dhoni scored at 58 out of 51 balls, ensuring India reached a target of 436 balls after being bowled out for 247.

In the second Test at Faisalabad, India toured Pakistan from January to February 2006, and Dhoni scored his maiden century. India was struggling, where Dhoni and Irfan Pathan tried to return, with the team still needing 107 runs to prevent a follow-on. After scoring the first fifty in 34 deliveries, Dhoni maintained his ferocious style in his maiden Test century in 93 balls.

Dhoni finished the century with solid batting results over the next three matches, including one against Pakistan against India, and two against England against whom India held a 1–0 lead. In the third Test at Wankhede Stadium, Dhoni was India's top scorer, as his 64 helped India post 279 in response to England's 400. However, Dhoni and the Indian fielders lost catches and missed several dismissal chances, including Andrew Flintoff's crucial stumping chance (14). As Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 runs for the home team, a target that India was never in danger of attacking. Dhoni failed to collect the Harbhajan Singh delivery cleanly. The team was disqualified for 100 runs, but Dhoni scored just 5 runs and was chastised for his wicket-keeping mistakes as well as his shot pick.

In the first Test at Antigua, Dhoni scored a quick and ferocious 69. The remainder of the season was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings, but his wicket-keeping skills improved, ending the series with 13 catches and 4 stumps. In the second Test match against the Proteas, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not enough to save the second Test against the Proteas, squandering the chance to win for the second time in South Africa, squandering the chance to win by a single Test match in the first Test match. Dhoni's swollen hands had him disqualified from the third Test match.

During India's tour of West Indies, Dhoni's flick off Dave Mohammed to the midwicket area was caught by Daren Ganga on the fourth day of the first Test match at Antigua Recreation Grounds, St John's, Antigua. Captain Dravid announced the innings as the batsman returned to walk back, but it was not clear if the fielder stepped on the ropes, and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's decision as the batsman began to walk back. Although the replays were inconclusive, Brian Lara, the West Indies' captain, wanted Dhoni to walk off based on the fielder's prediction of the catch. The impasse lasted more than 15 minutes, and Lara's rage was on full display, with finger-wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire Asad Rauf. Dhoni walked away and Dravid's address was made, but the game was postponed, and Lara's behavior was criticized by commentators and veterans. Lara had been summoned by the match referee to give an account of his conduct, but he was not fined.

Dhoni scored two centuries in Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009, a string of three matches in which he led India to a 2–0 triumph. For the first time in history, India soared to the top of Test cricket with this feat. In the third match of this series, India's highest Test total ever stood at 726–9 (decl).

In the second and third tests of India's tour of Australia captaining India, he appeared in his last series, losing the second and drawing the third, and leaving the third a tie, with the series ending in 2–0 before the Sydney Test. Following the third Test in Melbourne, Dhoni announced his retirement from the sport. In his last Test, he produced nine dismissals (eight catches and a stumping), and in the process, he beat Kumar Sangakkara in the number of stumpings with 134 (in both three formats combined). He also set a record for producing the most dismissals in a match by an Indian wicketkeeper until it was broken by Wriddhiman Saha in 2018. He batted for 24 runs in his last innings.

India defeated Australia 2-1 at Adelaide on February 12, 2012, after Dhoni scored an unbeaten 44 to lead India to their first victory over Australia. He took the final over after a smashing of Clint McKay. During his post-match presentation, he referred to this six as more relevant than the one he defeated in the 2011 ICC World Cup final.

The ICC named him captain and wicketkeeper of Team of the Tournament' in 2014 T20 World Cup.

In 2005, MS Dhoni was selected to lead India in the first-ever World T20. He made his captaincy debut against Scotland but the match was called off. Thereon was leading India to the ICC World Twenty 20/20 trophy in South Africa on September 24, 2007, beating arch-rival Pakistan in an intensely fought final, and the second Indian captain to have won a World Cup in any form of cricket after Kapil Dev.

On August 15, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.

Domestic career

In the 1999-2000 season, he debuted in first class and List A Cricket. He competed for Bihar, Jharkhand, India A, Air India Blue, India's A, Indian Board President's XI, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Rest of India, Chennai Rising Pune Supergiant is a student in national cricket. He was a member of the British government-owned Air India Airlines's Air India team before he resigned from the organization in 2013. Dhoni, a BCCI Corporate award winner, won by 106 runs against the 'India Revenue' team in 2009. At Chandigarh, he recorded seven sixes and seven fours in the inning.

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