Mahendra Singh Dhoni
M. S. Dhoni was born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand). His father Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. He initially excelled in badminton and football, and was selected at district and club level in these sports. He was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach.
Though he had not played cricket, he impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became regular wicketkeeper at Commando cricket club. He was picked for 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. He focused on cricket after 10th standard.
Till class 12th he played only school cricket and club cricket but no professional cricket. In 1998, he was selected by Deval Sahay to play for Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team. Sahay used to gift him Rs 50 for each six that he hit in Sheesh Mahal tournament cricket matches.
For CCL, he batted up the order and scored centuries and helped CCL move to A division. Sahay used his contacts in Bihar Cricket Association to push for his selection in junior Bihar cricket team and eventually senior Bihar Ranji Team for 1999–2000 season. Within 1 year, he moved from playing in CCL to Bihar Ranji team.
He made Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in 1999–2000 season, as an 18-year-old. He was a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station from 2001 to 2003.
His performance in 2002–2003 season included three half-centuries in Ranji Trophy and a couple in Deodhar Trophy, as he started gaining recognition for his lower-order contribution as well as hard-hitting batting style. He was part of East Zone squad that won Deodhar Trophy 2003–2004 season and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches, including a century (114) against Central zone.
In Duleep Trophy finals, he was picked over international cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East Zone. He scored a fighting half-century in the second innings in a losing cause.
His talent was discovered via BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. Dhoni was discovered by TRDO Prakash Poddar (captain of Bengal in 1960s) when he saw Dhoni play for Jharkhand at a match in Jamshedpur in 2003 and sent a report to National Cricket Academy.
He was picked for India A squad for tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against Zimbabwe in Harare Sports Club, he had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings.
In tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India A and Pakistan A, he helped chase down target of 223 against Pakistan A with a half-century. He scored back to back centuries, 120 and 119 against them. He scored 362 runs in 6 innings at an average of 72.40 and his performance was noted by Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri and others.
He was picked in ODI squad for Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. He was run out for a duck on debut. In spite of an average series, he was picked for Pakistan ODI series. In second match, in his 5th ODI, he scored 148 in Visakhapatnam off only 123 deliveries and surpassed earlier record for highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper, a record that he re-wrote before end of the year.
He had few batting opportunities in first two games of 2005 Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series and was promoted to No. 3 in third ODI at Jaipur). Sri Lanka had set a target of 299 after a Kumar Sangakkara century and in reply, India lost Tendulkar early. He ended with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the game for India.
The innings was described in Wisden Almanack (2006) as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. The innings set various records including highest individual score in ODI cricket in second innings, a record only broken after 7 years by Shane Watson. He ended the series with highest run aggregate (346) and was awarded Man of the Series. In December 2005, he was rewarded a B-grade contract by BCCI.
He overtook Ricky Ponting as number 1 in ICC ODI Rankings for batsmen on 20 April 2006 becoming fastest batsman to do so, in 42 innings. His reign lasted just a week as Adam Gilchrist's performance against Bangladesh moved him to the top spot.
In next 16 matches, he hit just 2 fifties and averaged 25.93. He was criticised on his wicket-keeping technique by former wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani. Yet, for his performances in 2006, he was named in World ODI XI by ICC.
In 2007 World Cup, India unexpectedly crashed out of World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in group stage. He was out for a duck in both matches and scored just 29 runs in the tournament. After loss to Bangladesh, the house that he was constructing in Ranchi was vandalised and damaged by political activists of JMM. The local police arranged for security for his family.
He put disappointing performances in World Cup behind him by scoring 91* against Bangladesh, after India were left in a tight spot in the run-chase. He was declared Man of the Match, his fourth in ODIs. He was adjudged Man of the Series. He had a good Afro-Asia Cup, scoring 174 runs in 3 matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out off 97 balls, a Man of the Match innings, in third ODI.
He was named vice-captain of ODI team for series against South Africa in Ireland and subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series. He was awarded 'A' grade contract in June 2007. He was elected as captain of Indian squad for World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007, he equalled idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching five English players and stumping one.
During series between India and Australia in 2009, he hit an aggressive 124 runs in just 107 balls, in second ODI and a measured knock of 71 runs in 95 balls, along with Yuvraj Singh and saw India home by 6 wickets in third ODI. He took his first and only wicket in international cricket on 30 September 2009. He bowled Travis Dowlin of West Indies during a match in 2009 ICC Champions Trophy.
He topped ICC ODI Batsman rankings for several months in 2009. He had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009, scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings, at an astonishing average of 70.43. He was joint top-scorer in ODIs in 2009 along with Ricky Ponting, but the latter having played 30 innings. For his performances in 2009, he was named captain and wicketkeeper of World ODI XI by ICC.
ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 kicked off in the subcontinent and Dhoni-led India was seen as 'favourites'. Although he didn't have a good show with the bat averaging just 30.0 in seven innings and managing 150 runs, India reached the finals with victories over Australia and Pakistan in quarter-finals and semi-finals. Chasing a target of 275 in final against Sri Lanka, he rescued his team alongside Gautam Gambhir and later Yuvraj Singh to help India lift their second World Cup title since 1983. He scored 91 not out, finishing the game with a historical six and claiming Man of the Match award.
The rest is history.
He captained Indian team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. Under his captaincy, India won inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2010 and 2016 Asia Cups, 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.
He is one of highest run scorers in One Day Internationals (ODIs) with more than 10,000 runs scored and was considered an effective 'finisher' in limited-overs formats. He is regarded as a great wicket-keeper, batsman and captain in history of game. He was first wicket-keeper to effect 100 stumpings in ODI cricket.
He announced retirement from Test format on 30 December 2014 and stepped down as captain of T20Is and ODIs in 2017. On 15 August 2020, he retired from all formats of international cricket. He continues to play in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings in IPL. He captained the side to championships in 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 editions of IPL league. Under his captaincy CSK won Champions League T20 in 2010 and 2014. He vacated captaincy on 24 March 2022, being replaced by Ravindra Jadeja. He became captain again after Jadeja resigned on 30 April 2022.
