Personal Details and Early Life
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, popularly known as ‘MS Dhoni’ or ‘MSD’, is a former Indian cricket team
captain who is best known for famously leading the Indian ODI team to a World Cup win in 2011.
MS Dhoni was born on July 7, 1981, in Ranchi, Bihar (presently in Jharkhand), into a Rajput family,
who originally hailed from Uttarakhand, to father Pan Singh and Mother Devika Devi. MS Dhoni is
the youngest of three siblings. His family includes his brother, Narendra Singh Dhoni, and a sister,
Jayanti Gupta.
An athletic student who showed sporting potential from his childhood, MSD attended DAV Jawahar
Vidya Mandir in Ranchi, where he was the goalkeeper in the football team. After filling in for the
wicket-keeper spot in a local match, MSD was so impressive he secured a permanent spot in the
Commando cricket club team for three years during 1995-98. A string of good performances led to
him being selected for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship team during the 1997-98
season. After completion of his 10th standard, MSD started taking cricket seriously.
Career
MSD had a very consistent one-by-one step rise to the peak of his career. In 1998, he took the first
steps in his career by playing for the Bihar U-19 team, and in the 1999-2000 season, he made his
debut in the Ranji Trophy for Bihar. He started gaining recognition for his lower-order contributions
and also for his hard-hitting batting style. His brilliant performances in the Deodhar Trophy, Duleep
Trophy in the 2003/04 season earned him a spot in the touring squad of India ‘A’ to Kenya. On 23
December 2004, MSD made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong, which was the start of
an illustrious career in national colors.
ODI
In the ODI scenario, Dhoni has played 350 matches scoring a staggering 10773 runs, with his highest
being 183* off 145 balls against Sri Lanka, in Jaipur, 2005-06. A remarkable keeper, his ODI
wicket-keeping statistics include 246 catches and 85 stumpings. Dhoni played 4 ODI World Cups, the
first of which was a disappointing debut in 2007, where India played only three matches due to their
early exit. Dhoni, then led India to a triumphant 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, under his captaincy. In
the final, he scored 91 not out, finishing the game with a historic six and claiming the Man of the
Match award.
Test Matches
Dhoni has played 90 Test matches scoring 4876 runs in 144 innings. His highest score in Test cricket is
224 against Australia in Chennai in 2013. His amazing statistics as a wicket-keeper in tests include
256 catches and 38 stumpings.
T20 Matches
Dhoni has played 90 T20 Internationals and scored 1617 runs in total including two half-centuries.
His highest score in this format in international cricket is 56 runs vs England in Bangalore on 1
February 2017. In 2007, the first T20I World Cup was held, India won the World Cup after beating
Pakistan in the final under Dhoni’s leadership. ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni, is also the skipper of the Chennai
Super Kings Team in IPL (Indian Premier League). Under his captaincy, the team has won three IPL
titles in 2010, 2011, and 2018, and also the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014.
Achievements
Test
●With 294 dismissals in his career, Dhoni has the highest dismissals by an Indian
wicket-keeper.
●With 27 Test wins under his belt, he is the most successful Indian Test cricket captain.
●Dhoni leads the list for most dismissals in an innings (6) and in a match (9) by an Indian
wicket-keeper with Syed Kirmani.
ODI
●He was the first player to cross the 10,000 runs mark in ODI cricket having a career average
of over 50
●Most not outs (82) in ODI cricket.
●Fifth batsman overall and the first Indian to hit 200 sixes in ODIs.
●He has scored the highest score in an innings by a wicket-keeper, 183* against Sri Lanka in
2005.
T20I
●Most wins in T20Is as captain (41).
●Most matches as captain in T20Is(72) which is also the highest as captain and wicket-keeper.
●With 87 dismissals he has the highest dismissals as a wicket-keeper in T20Is.
On 15 August 2020, Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket, calling it
quits on one of the most memorable careers in modern cricket.
Awards & Recognition
National honors
●Padma Bhushan in the year 2018, India’s third-highest civilian award.
●Padma Shri in the year 2009, India’s fourth-highest civilian award.
●Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the 2007-08 season, India’s highest honor given for achievement
in sports.
Sporting honors
●ICC ODI Player of the Year for consecutive years running in 2008 and 2009
●Member of the ICC World ODI XI eight times in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,
and 2014 (captain in 2009, 2011-2014)
●Member of the ICC World Test XI thrice in 2009, 2010 and 2013
Personal Life
Dhoni got married to Sakshi Singh Rawat, a childhood school friend, on July 4, 2010. On February 6,
2015, the couple had a baby girl named Ziva, while Dhoni was in Australia, and the 2015 Cricket
World Cup was a week later. He didn’t travel back for the birth of his first child and said that he is on
National duty and other things can wait.
