M.S.DHONI

AN INSPIRATION

About:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni or M.S.Dhoni was an Indian cricketer and captain of the Indian national cricket team.Nicknamed 'Mahi', this spectacular and promising wicket-keeper/batsman filled in the much-awaited void in Team India's lineup, and since then has proved his worth. With his swashbuckling attitude and unique hairstyle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become a popular cricket and marketing icon in India. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper.

BACKGROUND

Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. He has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra Singh Dhoni. Originally his family belonged to Almora district of Uttarakhand. He had studied at the DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir School in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Initially, during his school days, he used to play badminton and football and in fact was the goalkeeper of his football team. Once, he was sent by his football coach to play cricket for a local cricket club. It was in this match that he impressed everyone with his wicket-keeping skills which resulted in getting him a regular post of the wicketkeeper at the Commando Cricket Club. From 2001 to 2003, he worked as a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Kharagpur Railway Station under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W).

CAREER

Dhoni began his career in 1998 by playing for Bihar U-19 team. He also played for East Zone U-19 team. In 1999-2000, he made a debut for Bihar in Ranji Trophy. His brilliant performances in the Deodhar Trophy, Duleep Trophy and India 'A' tour of Kenya, brought him to the notice of the national team selectors.

He was then selected to play for the Indian Cricket team in 2004, where he made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong. Since then, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has come a long way in cricket. His sterling performances with the bat have rescued India from many a tight positions. In his illustrious career, Dhoni has played 90 Tests scoring 4876 runs with his highest being 224 against Australia at Chennai in 2013. His amazing statistics behind the stumps include 256 catches and 38 stumpings.

In the ODI scenario, Dhoni has so far played 265 matches scoring 8620 runs, with his highest being a staggering 183 not-out against Sri Lanka, in Jaipur, 2005-06. His ODI wicket-keeping statistics include 246 catches and 85 stumpings.

Dhoni made his ICC Cricket World Cup debut in 2007 and played only three matches due to India's early exit. India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, among others, under his captainship. He is also the captain of the Chennai Super Kings Team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Under his captaincy, the team has won two IPL titles and also the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010.

AWARDS

MS Dhoni received country's third highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, from President Ram Nath Kovind. The former Indian captain, who holds the rank of Honorary Lieutenant Colonel, wore his official uniform of the Territorial Army for the ceremony.

Exactly seven years after lighting up the Mumbai skyline with an unforgettable six, Mahendra Singh Dhoni again became the cynosure of all eyes as the honorary Lieutenant Colonel received the Padma Bhushan Award, dressed in an army uniform.

It was a happy coincidence for Dhoni as he was conferred with the prestigious civilian honour on the seventh anniversary of their famous World Cup triumph.

The Indian Territorial Army had conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Dhoni on November 1, 2011, months after the country lifted its second World Cup under his leadership.

The 39-year-old Dhoni is the second Indian cricketer after Kapil Dev to receive this honour.

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 2007 and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009.

ACHIEVEMENTS

His 10 sixes in an innings are the sixth highest in ODI cricket.
He broke the record of Adam Gilchrist for the highest score made by a wicket keeper by scoring 183 runs.
He holds the record of maximum dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper in an innings.
India reached the highest test score of 726-9, under his captaincy.
He is the only ODI captain to have played at number seven and scored a century. He did it in December 2012 while playing against Pakistan.
He is the first Indian wicketkeeper to reach 4000 tests runs.

RETIREMENT

“Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired.”

With a video that he posted on Instagram on a Saturday evening of a national holiday, MS Dhoni announced his decision to retire from international cricket.

The video, that shows the highs and lows of the career, is filled with personal touches too, evidently. The choice of photos and screengrabs over his 15-year international career and how he placed those say plenty despite Dhoni just adding one line to it.

And just like that, for the third time in his career, he dropped a big decision by timing it on his own terms.