MS Dhoni

Introduction

MS Dhoni: A cricket player who not only won a lot of matches but hearts too. Every cricket lover has a different respect for him. Today in this blog we will discuss his life and how he went from a simple middle-class guy to The MS Dhoni.

Let’s first start with a quick introduction about who is Dhoni.

Quick brief about Dhoni’s life

MS Dhoni was born into a humble family of five and his route from humble beginnings to an iconic figure in cricket was not very simple but his determination and dedication paid off and today he is an inspiration for all of us.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni also known as MS Dhoni, is a well-known Indian cricketer. From 2007 to 2016, he captained the Indian National team in limited-over formats, and from 2008 to 2014 he captained the nation in Test cricket. One of the biggest aspects of his career is that he is the only captain to have won every ICC trophy during his tenure such as the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, the Asia Cup in 2010 and 2016, the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

Dhoni made a permanent mark in the world of cricket as a right-handed middle-order batsman and wicket-keeper. He is one of the most successful run scorers in One Day Internationals (ODI) who have scored over 10,000 runs. He was even considered as a strong ‘finisher’ in limited-over contests, as well as one of the top wicket-keepers and captains in international limited-overs cricket.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004 and his first test match against Sri Lanka in next year. His amazing performances received him various honors such as the ICC One-Day International Player of the Year title in 2008 and 2009 that made him the first player to get the award twice.

Dhoni led the Chennai Super Kings to win in the Indian Premier League (IPL) three times in 2010, 2011, and 2018. His impact went even outside the cricket pitch as Time Magazine named him one of the “Most Influential People” of all time. After leaving Air India, he became Vice-President of India Cement Ltd.

Dhoni confirmed his retirement from Test cricket on December 30, 2014, and Sports Pro ranked him as the world’s 16th most marketable athlete in 2012. Dhoni has also put his feet in business ownership by co-owning an Indian Super League side.
With earnings of about 31 million US dollars in 2015, he was rated as 23rd among the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s journey from humble beginnings to cricket superstar showed his extremely hard work, endurance, and dedication. His influence on the world of cricket and sports generally has been really amazing.
Hence let us drive more into his journey and understand each aspect of his life.

Early life of Dhoni

Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand) on July 7, 1981. He is a Rajput Hindu. His parents moved to Ranchi from Uttarakhand.

His father Pan Sing worked at MECON. He also has a sister named Jayanti and a brother named Narendra. His nicknames are Mahi, Captain Cool, MSD, and Thala.

He loves Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar, and Adam Gilchrist a lot and also termed them as his ideals. He was very good in badminton and football and has been great in playing during his Ranchi school. He was selected at the district and club levels for this. He was also a goalkeeper for his squad, but his coach transferred him to a nearby cricket club.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni started his cricket career as a regular wicket-keeper for the Commando Cricket Club from 1995 to 1998. His talent on the field got attention and he was selected to take part in the Vinod Mankad Trophy Under-16 championship.

Dhoni decided to focus only on cricket after finishing his 10th-grade studies. But from 2001 to 2003, he worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Kharagpur railway station. This stage of his life shows his determination and loyalty to pursue his cricket love while keeping up with the demands of his job as he was maintaining both things at that time.

MS Dhoni’s personal life

On July 4, 2010, Dhoni married his schoolmate Sakshi Rawat. Sakshi was pursuing a degree in hotel management and working as an intern at the Taj Bengal in Kolkata when they married.
On February 6, 2015, they had a baby daughter named Ziva in their family. However, Dhoni was in Australia with the Indian cricket team for the 2015 Cricket World Cup at the time. Even during his daughter’s birth, Dhoni took the personal decision to stay with the team in Australia and said “I am on national duty, other things can wait.” This clearly showed his unshakeable commitment to representing his country in cricket even when his family needed him a lot.

Bihar Junior Cricket journey

Something amazing happened in 1998, while Dhoni was in the 12th grade. He was given the opportunity to play for the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team by a man named Deval Sahay. During that time Deval Sahay used to give junior Dhoni 50 rupees for every six he hit in those contests which boosted his confidence and hunger to do more.

Sahay was really impressed by Dhoni’s effort and ability to hit hard-hitting shots. Sahay used his connections in cricketing circles and helped Dhoni to get a position in the Bihar Under-19 team during the 1998-99 season. This was a key stage in Dhoni’s growth into the cricket star we all know today.

Joining Jharkhand cricket team

Dhoni had an important role in domestic cricket during the 2002-03 season. He scored three half-centuries in the Ranji Trophy and two more in the Deodhar Trophy. His constant batting performances attracted attention and became the turning point of his life.

Dhoni continued to impress during the 2003-04 season. He made an outstanding 128 not out against Assam in one of the Ranji One-Day International (ODI) matches that showed his cricket skills. Also during that season’s Deodhar Trophy, he scored 244 runs in four matches.
Dhoni’s talent was spotted and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) noticed him through their small-town scouting operation. TRDO Prakash Poddar was the one who noticed his ability and got credit for finding him.

First step in Indian A team

In the 2003-04 season, his tireless efforts helped him to hold a position in the India A team for the One-Day format. Dhoni showed his wicket-keeping skills during a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya by taking seven catches and stumping four. He also made an impact with a bat by scoring 362 runs in six innings. His outstanding performance attracted the notice of famous players such as Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri who saw his talent and potential. This was a key step on Dhoni’s way to international cricket stardom.

ODI career’s start

Dhoni was selected as the Indian One-Day International (ODI) wicket-keeper for a tour to Bangladesh in 2004-05. But his international performance was not especially outstanding. His performance against Bangladesh was quite ordinary as everyone had very high expectations of him.

Although even after a shaky start, Dhoni was given another chance to prove himself and was selected for the ODI series against Pakistan.

The Dhoni’s Era

Dhoni made an outstanding impression in his fifth One-Day International (ODI) encounter by scoring 148 runs in just 123 deliveries in Vishakhapatnam. This outstanding effort has created a new record for the highest ODI score by an Indian wicket-keeper.

Dhoni was promoted to the number three batting position in the third ODI at Jaipur. He played brilliantly and scored 183 runs in 145 balls to give India a historic victory. This inning was described as “uninhibited, yet anything but crude” by Wisden Almanack in 2006.

This amazing inning not only broke records but also earned Dhoni the award for Man of the Series for his outstanding performance. His efforts were acknowledged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) who awarded him a B-grade contract.

India scored 328 runs in 50 overs against Pakistan in 2006, with Dhoni scoring 68 runs in the first match against Pakistan that year. But, unfortunately, India was defeated because of the Duckworth-Lewis method.

Dhoni, on the other hand, came back with a great effort in the third match of the same series by scoring 77 runs with 13 boundaries. This performance helped India to take a 2-1 series lead. Dhoni beat Ricky Ponting and became the number one batsman in the ICC ODI Rankings in 2006 as a result of his regular and impactful batting by achieving this milestone in just 42 innings which made him the fastest to reach the top rank.

The World Cup 2007

During this time, India won 3-1 over both the West Indies and Sri Lanka. Dhoni performed superbly by averaging over 100 in both matches and also received Man of the Match honors.

In three Afro-Asian Cup matches he scored 174 runs. As a result of his leadership abilities, he was named vice-captain for the series against South Africa. Also, Dhoni was named captain of the Indian team for the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007.

Reaching the ranks

During the India-Australia series in 2009, Dhoni scored 124 runs in 107 balls in the second ODI and 71 runs in 95 balls with Yuvraj Singh in the third ODI.

On September 30, 2009, he took his maiden international wicket. In 2009, he topped the ICC ODI Batsman rankings. In 2009, he scored 1198 runs in only 24 innings. The ICC selected him as captain and wicketkeeper of the world ODI XI.

The biographical film

M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, a biographical film about Dhoni’s life from his youth to the 2011 Cricket World Cup was released on September 30, 2016, starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Disha Patani, and Kiara Advani It portrays all his life struggles and his personal life and also gathered a huge response.

Awards and honors

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – 2007−08
• ICC ODI Player of the Year – 2008, 2009
• Padma Shri Award – 2009
• ICC World ODI XI – 2010, 2011
• Honorary doctorate degree – 2011
• Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year – 2011
• ICC World Test XI – 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
• Padma Bhushan Award – 2018

FAQS

Q: When did Dhoni make the ODI Debut for the Indian team?

A: He made his debut on 23rd Dec 2004 at MA Aziz Stadium which was against Bangladesh.

Q: For which team Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut?

A: MS Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar.

Q: What is Dhoni’s nickname?

A: He is named “Captain Cool”, Mahi, and MSD.

Q: Number of matches MS Dhoni played for India?

A: He has played over 500 matches across all three formats of the game.

Conclusion

MS Dhoni is an inspiration for all of us and we can get a lot from his journey. His journey from being a ticker checker to now a cricket superstar is not more than a dream for him. He had gone through a lot in life but still came back as a superstar.

At last, we want to say that Dhoni’s journey has many aspects and to cover all of this might require more. We hope you like this blog and if you do, please let us know in the comments.