2. PROFILE
NAME: MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI
BORN: 7 JULY 1981
AGE: 41 YEARS{AUGUST 2023}
NATIONALITY: INDIAN
BIRTHPLACE: RANCHI, JHARKHAND
HEIGHT: 5FT 9IN {1.75 M}
ROLE: WICKET-KEEPER BATSMAN,
RIGHT-HANDED BATSMAN, RIGHT-
ARM MEDIUM BOWLER
BATTING STYLE: RIGHT-HAND BAT
BOWLING STYLE: RIGHT-ARM
MEDIUM
JERSEY NUMBER:7
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3. ABOUT CRIKET
ODI DEBUT: 2004 vs BANGLADESH
LAST ODI: 2019 vs NEW ZEALAND
T20 DEBUT: 2006 vs SOUTH AFRICA
LAST T20: 2019 vs AUSTRALIA
TEST DEBUT: 2005 vs SRI LANKA
LAST TEST: 2015 vs AUSTRALIA
IPL DEBUT: 2008 vs PUNJAB KINGS
LAST IPL: 2023 vs GUJARAT TITANS
CAPTAINCY DEBUT: 2007
LAST CAPTAIN: 2018 vs AFGHANISTAN
IPL TROPHIES: 5
ICC TROPHIES: 3
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHIES: 2
ASIA CUP TROPHIES: 3
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4. Hailing from Jharkhand, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s rise through the ranks into
international cricket is a tale of rebellion, extraordinary merit, perseverance, and,
most of all, belief. After being scouted on the whims of his school P.E. teacher as
a wicketkeeper, Dhoni created whispers in the cricketing circles of Ranchi - a
teenage boy with no measurable upper-body strength clearing boundaries
against some of the best fast bowlers of the district. However, the system failed
him as he found it difficult to make the cut against candidates of the more
affluent A-tier states. Consequently, in a desperate move, he joined the Railways
Ranji team and started to work as a ticket collector at the Kharagpur railway
station to make ends meet.
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5. 5
Nevertheless, in a few months, the stars started to align
themselves for the precocious wunderkind from Ranchi. Inspired
by the KSCA, the BCCI started a country-wide Training
Research Development Wing to scout talent from the more
financially backward states. Dhoni immediately caught the eyes
of the scouts and was sent on an A tour to Kenya, where his
talent burst forth for the world to see as he showcased his
batting pyrotechnics against world-class bowlers in alien
conditions. He immediately shot to national reckoning and was
selected for the tour of Bangladesh in November 2004.
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6. 6
By then a broad 22-year-old with long locks, Dhoni’s India
career got off to an inauspicious start, as he scored a duck in
his first ODI and a string of low scores followed. However, the
selectors and the then-captain Sourav Ganguly decided to
persist with him and gave him an extended run. Dhoni repaid
their faith with an exhibition of his charisma and audacious
stroke-play in his fifth ODI against Pakistan, who certainly didn’t
see the butchery coming, as he butchered his way to 148 at
Vishakhapatnam. Later in 2005, he went one step further
bludgeoning his way to a brutal 183* in Jaipur to make a
mockery of a 300-run chase against a Sri Lankan attack that
looked aghast at his bizarre-but-effective stroke-play and the
unparalleled physical power that he imparted on the ball.
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7. 7
As teams all over the world tried to work a way around his
fireworks, Dhoni established himself as a reliable batsman in
Tests too, with a technique that worked against pace, seam,
swing and spin. In his 5th Test, he coincidentally scored another
148 against Pakistan in an uncharacteristically stoic effort to
save the match, thereby portraying his versatility as a batsman.
After a string of wicketkeeper-batsmen being tried in the side,
Dhoni had finally become a mainstay in the side - a powerful
pinch-hitter towards the end of the innings capable of more than
just cameos, and a more-than-reliable wicketkeeper in the side.
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In a state where leather ball cricket was a luxury, Dhoni grew up
playing tennis ball cricket tournaments. With heavy Kashmir willow
bats, light and hollow tennis balls, and long boundaries, he
developed a bottom-hand-dominated technique to impart
maximum power on the light tennis ball which undergoes energy-
damping upon impact. However, Dhoni stood out when he, along
with a friend, developed an elevated body-weight shot with an
exaggerated follow-through that cleared boundaries with ease. On
that count, cricketing folklore will remember MS Dhoni as the man
who had the audacity to play the 'helicopter shot' against the
leather ball.
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9. 9
Captaincy
With a mature head on his shoulders and an astute and shrewd cricketing
mind, Dhoni was recommended by senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and
Rahul Dravid for captaincy after Rahul Dravid stepped down as skipper.
On his first assignment in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, Dhoni and his
young troops romped to the title in a shock victory for the inexperienced
Indian side, bringing about the T20 revolution in India. Dhoni's calm and
composed leadership was widely lauded in the cricketing fraternity after
India brought the trophy home, earning him the label of ‘Captain Cool’. He
was soon handed the ODI leadership as a natural move after his World T20
triumph, and after the retirement of Anil Kumble in late 2008, the Test
leadership was thrust upon him too.
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10. 10
Dhoni had a golden run as captain, with an unbeaten run in Test
series since his captaincy debut, leading them to their first stint
as the top-ranked Test team in the world. His winning streak
included the home series against Australia in 2008, a 1-0 triumph
in New Zealand in 2009, and a 2-0 victory against Sri Lanka at
home, culminating in a comprehensive win at the Brabourne
stadium, Mumbai, where he received the coveted Test
Championship mace. India continued to dominate in home Tests
after this and drew a series in South Africa, coming very close to
their maiden series win in South Africa in the decider in Cape
Town, where some stoic resistance by the hosts narrowly saved
them from a defeat at the hands of a rampaging Indian side in
top form.
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11. 11
Dhoni continued to garner praise for his success across formats;
especially for his clinical success in limited-overs cricket, reaching
the pinnacle of his captaincy career during India's path to glory in the
2011 World Cup. Dhoni’s India knocked out Australia, the holders of
the World Cup since 1999, in the quarter-final in Ahmedabad. Having
gone through a patch of lackluster form throughout the tournament,
Dhoni peaked at the right time, exhibiting his usual sangfroid on the
way to 91* in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka, and lofted an
iconic six over long-on, triggering night-long celebrations all over
Mumbai and the rest of India.
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12. 12
Transition Period - A rebuilding phase
After the World Cup, the Indian team saw a difficult transition
period. Dhoni's shrewd captaincy came under severe scrutiny
during the 8 successive losses in England and Australia. In the
aftermath of the overseas failures, which included England
toppling them over as the number 1 Test side in the world, a
fatigued Indian side faced a 1-2 drubbing against England at
home as India's Test team hit rock-bottom. The team's abysmal
performances in the longer format raised serious questions about
Dhoni's leadership and a whisper of his sacking; a somewhat
misplaced and impulsive proposition, given the poor overall
performance of the entire team, their inept technique against spin
(which is their forte), an overflowing timetable, and a plethora of
viable explanations.
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13. 13
However, the transition phase in Indian cricket saw the famed batting line-up failing to meet their lofty
standards, and a rather raw bowling fast-bowling line-up with negligible experience struggling, as Zaheer
Khan suffering from a long-term injury.
There was only so much Dhoni could do...
However, after taking some tough selection calls, Dhoni led the way in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a
marathon 224 in Chennai, setting the platform for a clean sweep of Australia at home, clinically blanking
them to regain the trophy. India became the first team in more than 40 years to whitewash Australia in a
Test series and Dhoni now had the most Test wins for an Indian captain under his belt.
India's poor Test form had unfortunately seeped into the ODI fold as well. However, Dhoni developed an
uncanny ability to play a symbolic game of poker during run-chases and backed himself to finish it off in
the last over without blinking. He repeated this feat multiple times: whacking a 112-meter six to clear the
Adelaide boundary with 12 to win off 4 in the CB series, chasing down 15 in the last over in the Celkon
Cup final to name a few, and a ridiculous 23 off the last over in a run-chase off Axar Patel to win a dead-
rubber in IPL 2016; with the equation at 12 to win from 2, he dropped jaws by clouting two sixes to pull off
a scarcely believable victory.
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He had started to build a reputation of being one of the most
reliable batsmen limited-overs cricket, taking India to victory
constantly from the jaws of defeat. For instance, his century
batting at No.7 against Pakistan at Chennai, a stunning 113
walking into the crease when India were 29 for 5, was a knock
that symbolized the leader MS Dhoni who led by example, as
well as exhibited sharp tactical nous: a much sought-after
combination in a captain.
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The Redemption
After rebuilding the ODI side and phasing out the seniors, Dhoni had a fine run as
captain in 2013, leading India to their second Champions Trophy triumph as they
cruised to the title undefeated, providing a welcome distraction from the IPL spot-
fixing controversy. This made him the first captain in history to win all three ICC
global trophies, etching his name in the history books with an unprecedented record
and an enviable trophy cabinet as a limited-overs captain.
He led the side to the final of the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh, in which India lost
to Sri Lanka in the final, and the semi-final of the World T20 in 2016 in India. Dhoni
also is the captain of the Chennai franchise, one of the most successful teams in the
history of the Indian Premier League, which won back-to-back titles in the years
2010 and 2011 and also the Champions League T20 in the years 2010 and 2014.
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16. 16
Dhoni's Test captaincy came under severe criticism, especially
after India's continuous losses overseas. Despite a Lord’s victory
on a green top in 2014, India went on to lose the three subsequent
Tests in England in 2014, where Dhoni made some lone
contributions, including a dogged 82 in a total of 148 and a few
other fifties. He countered the seam movement and swing by
playing late and walking down the pitch, showing greater
application than the rest of his line-up with more orthodox
techniques. Despite not having the often-talked-about hundred in
overseas conditions, Dhoni has made several valuable
contributions in the lower order which have immeasurable value in
the context of the game.
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17. 17
The beginning of the end
In the away Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2014, moments after
helping India draw the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, Dhoni
announced that he was stepping down from Test captaincy and
retiring from Test cricket, citing excessive workload as the reason
for quitting the longest format. After honing a potent bowling
attack and a gritty batting line-up for his heir and taking several
body blows - literal and metaphorical - Dhoni ensured that he
copped the criticism to nurture a potent team and left his
successor a young, zealous team with the tenacity, fitness, and
most importantly, the positive attitude to perform in all conditions.
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Dhoni successfully led India to the 2015 World Cup semi-final, where the defending champions
conceded cricket’s most desirable trophy to Australia. Here too, Dhoni was the lone warrior, as
he gritted his way through to 65, as his team fell short by 95 runs.
On 4th January 2017, Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Indian ODI and T20I team,
bringing about the end of an era in Indian cricket. Having led the team with zeal and panache
across all formats of the game for more than nine years, Dhoni decided to play with the freedom
of a pure batsman in his final lap of international cricket without the enormous burden of
captaincy.
In 2018, with the top order of the Indian team in turbo-mode, MS Dhoni had fewer opportunities
to bat and went through an alarming dip in form - the likes of which hadn't been seen since the
early days of his international career. With a revised technique and a far more top-handed
batting style, Dhoni reinforced his game to suit his waning reactions and wrist strength and
continued to be a part of the Indian middle order, guiding younger bowlers, almost handholding
the spinners in limited-overs cricket and creating dismissals out of thin air with his lightning-quick
stumpings, and almost reinventing the art of wicketkeeping to spinners by eliminating the follow
through at the point of connection.
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While his chicanery behind the stumps, and the tactical nous to assist the newer
leaders may have been priceless for the team, the lack of runs and the declining strike
rate were starting to stand out, leading to his exclusion from T20Is in late 2018.
Despite a fantastic IPL 2018, Dhoni has struggled to make his bat do the talking in
international cricket of late, as the helicopter stands rusting on the spot it was last
seen. After the semifinal heartbreak of the 2019 World Cup, Dhoni did not play an
international game for India. On August 15, 2020, just like catches batsmen unaware
with his glovework, MS Dhoni surprised the cricketing world by announcing his
international retirement through an Instagram post that read, "Thanks a lot for ur love
and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired."
The journey started with a run-out and ended with a run-out.
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20. 20
IPL through the years
MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings is a great yellove story.
Ever since the Indian Premier League idea spread vigorously
among the cricketing fraternity, people wondered which team
would pouch the then Indian captain. The Super Kings, run by
an organisation that knew the nuances of running sports, knew
they wanted a strong leader to lay a strong base and they made
a grand opening by bagging Dhoni for a whopping 6 Crore, the
highest bid back then. The IPL would be born on April 18, 2008
and on June 1, Dhoni was there leading CSK in the final, albeit
in a losing cause in a final-ball finish.
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The result may not have gone his way, but he made a mark with
his captaincy and by finishing as the side’s second-highest run-
getter. CSK was stopped one step before the final in 2009, but a
year later, Dhoni made a quirky move against Kieron Pollard in
the final against Mumbai Indians by placing a straightish mid-off
despite having a long-off to get his hands on the coveted trophy
after two failed attempts. With three consistent years, Dhoni
ensured the team made a big mark and they were considered
the Invincibles of the IPL. CSK justified the tag by winning the
title in 2011 and came runners-up in the following two editions.
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Dhoni was the third highest run-getter in 2013, a season where he fought a
lone battle against Mumbai in the final. His team team suffered a tough loss
in Qualifier 2 against a rampant Kings XI Punjab in 2014, another year
where Dhoni scored in excess of 350 runs. 2015 was a black mark in CSK's
history as the team was hit by the spot-fixing saga, but Dhoni led the side to
the final among the ruckus, before the franchise was slapped with a two-
year ban.
The ban meant all the CSK players were to spread and Dhoni moved to the
newly formed Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. He spent a quite year, but
was back doing what he does best, leading his side to the final, but yet
again, finished runners-up in a heart-breaking loss to the Mumbai Indians in
the final.
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2018 was a grand re-entry for Dhoni and CSK. The franchise was
given an unimaginably rousing welcome by the fans, who even
took a train all the way from Chennai to Pune to support the team
as the matches had to be moved out of Chennai. Dhoni was back
to where he belonged. He looked fresher, fitter and hungrier. With
his brilliant power-hitting through the season, he silenced critics
who ever questioning his hitting prowess and made a strong
statement that he is still well and truly alive for the 2019 World
Cup.
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24. 24
After a heart-breaking 1-run loss in the 2019 IPL final to
Mumbai, Dhoni led CSK to their 4th title in 2021. Dhoni stepped
down from CSK captaincy, but he got it back from Ravindra
Jadeja after a disastrous 2022 season which saw them not
qualify for the playoffs. Dhoni is back for the 2023 season as
captain of the side and made them win another ipl and equal
Mumbai Indians.
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