MS Dhoni is popularly known as a swashbuckling batsman, crafty wicket-keeper and an astute leader. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman turns 42 today.
Dhoni was born in a middle-class family in Ranchi on July 7, 1981. He stepped into professional cricket in 1998 to play for Central Coalfields Limited.
In his glittering career spanning over 15 years, Dhoni climbed the ladder from being an unparalleled finisher to ‘Captain Cool’.
Here are some lesser known facts, landmark moments and unique records in Dhoni’s outstanding career:
Lesser-known facts
Dhoni was recommended as captain of Team India by no other than Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and the rest is what they call history.
Dhoni is only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to receive an honorary rank by Indian Army. Dhoni was given the title of Lieutenant Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army on November 1, 2011.
Dhoni sported long hair during his initial years of international cricket. He once revealed that the hairstyle was inspired by John Abraham.
Dhoni is fond of dogs. His pet dogs Zarah and Sam play a major role in his personal life. While Zarah is a Labrador, Sam is an Alsatian.
Dhoni learnt his famous helicopter shot from his friend Santosh Lal. Santosh was a former Jharkhand cricketer.
Dhoni loves frequenting temples. His favourite temple is the Deori Mandir in Ranchi.
Dhoni has a rich taste in music. He loves listening to old classic Hindi movie melodies. He is a huge fan of Kishore Kumar.
Dhoni is very fond of chicken. Hot chocolate fudge is also his favourite.
Dhoni is a WWE buff. His favourite wrestlers are Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart and Hulk Hogan.
Dhoni first met his wife Sakshi in Kolkata in November 2007. India were slated to take on arch-rival Pakistan at the Eden Gardens then.
Dhoni was once a football buff. He is also fond of playing badminton.
The 22-year-old Dhoni was discovered through BCCI’s small-town talent-spotting initiative in 2003 when he was playing for Jharkhand in a match at Jamshedpur.
Dhoni became the most expensive cricketer of cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 when he was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise.
Dhoni’s love affair with bikes is well-known. However, he took it to a new level when he co-partnered in buying a Supersport World Championship team - Mahi Racing Team India in 2012.
Landmark moments
Sensation begins: MS Dhoni first came into reckoning with his blistering 148 runs innings against India’s arch-rival Pakistan in his fifth ODI game.
T20 captaincy: Following India’s dismal show in the 2007 ODI World Cup, Dhoni was chosen to lead India in the first T20 World Cup.
T20 WC triumph: Dhoni showed his shrewd leadership skills and calm composure throughout the mega tournament. India defeated Pakistan in the high-octane summit clash to lift the trophy of the inaugural T20 World Cup.
Test captaincy: Dhoni took Test captaincy in 2008 and led India to the top spot in the ICC rankings for the first time since the origin of the Test rankings in 2001.
Test supremacy: During the leadership tenure of Dhoni, India won the ICC Test Championship Mace in 2009.
2011 World Cup triumph: After 28-long years, India won the ODI World Cup in 2011 under Dhoni’s shrewd captaincy.
2013 Champions Trophy victory: Just two years after lifting the ODI World Cup trophy, Dhoni led India to another victory in the ICC Champions Trophy. With this, Dhoni became the only Indian skipper to lead India in three successful ICC campaigns.
World Number 1: Under Dhoni, India remained the number 1 team in the world across all three formats between 2010 and 2014. This was the golden age of Indian cricket. Besides, Dhoni became the number 1 ODI batsman in the ICC rankings.
Unique records
MS Dhoni holds the record for having hit the highest individual score as a wicketkeeper. He scored 183 of 143 balls against Pakistan in 2005.
Dhoni is the only captain to whitewash mighty Australia on their home soil. Under the leadership of Dhoni India beat Australia 3-0 on their home soil in 2016.
Dhoni has the unique record of finishing most number of matches with six. He has managed to finish nine matches with a six including that iconic six in the World Cup 2011 final.
Dhoni has another unique record of scoring most number of centuries batting at No.7 position. He has scored two centuries while batting in the lower order position.
Dhoni is the first player to score 10,000 ODI runs with an average of more than 50. He achieved the feat in 2019.
Dhoni has another unique record of scoring most T20 runs as the captain. He has captained India in 72 T20 games and won 41 of them with an impressive winning percentage of 59.28 %.
Dhoni has the unique record of remaining not outs for the most number of times in ODI cricket with a mind-boggling 84 times.