Mahendra Singh Dhoni (/məˈheɪndrə ˈsɪŋ dhæˈnɪ/ (listen); born 7 July 1981), also known as MS Dhoni, is an Indian former international cricketer who was captain of the Indian national cricket team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is also the current captain of CSK in the IPL. He led India to victory in three ICC trophies 2007 ICC World Twenty20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, the most by any captain. Under his captaincy India also won 2010 and 2016 Asia Cup. Also under his leadership India won 2010 and 2011 ICC Test Mace and 2013 ICC ODI Championship. A right-handed wicket-keeper batsman.[2] He scored over 10,000 runs in One Day Internationals, with the reputation as one of the best finishers in the game. He is also one of the greatest wicket-keepers and captains in the history of cricket.
In Indian domestic cricket he played for Bihar and Jharkhand Cricket team. He is the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League. He captained the side to championships in the 2010, 2011, 2018 and 2021 editions of IPL league. Also under his captaincy Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Won Champions League T20 two times, in 2010 and 2014.
Dhoni made his ODI debut on 23 December 2004, against Bangladesh in Chittagong,[3] and played his first Test a year later against Sri Lanka.[4] He played his first T20I also a year later against South Africa.[5] In 2007, he took over the ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid and he also selected as T20I captain of India in this year.[6] In 2008, he was selected as Test captain.[7] His captaincy record in Tests format was mixed, successfully leading India to a series win against New Zealand in 2008 and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (home series in 2010 and 2013) against Australia while losing to Sri Lanka, Australia, England, and South Africa by big margins in away conditions.[8]
He announced his retirement from Tests on 30 December 2014,[9] and stepped down as captain of T20Is and ODIs in 2017. On 15 August 2020, Dhoni retired from all formats of international cricket and continues to play in the IPL.[10][11]
Dhoni received India’s highest sports honour, the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award in 2008 for his outstanding achievements and the Government of India honoured him India’s fourth civilian award Padma Shri in 2009 and third civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2018. He is the only cricket captain in the world to win all three of the Cricket World Cup, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy.
Early life and background
Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) and hails from a Hindu Rajput family with roots in Uttarakhand.[12][13] He is the youngest of three children of Pan Singh and Devaki Devi.[14][15][16][17] His paternal village Lwali, is in Jainti Tehsil, Lamgara block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand.[18] His parents moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi, Jharkhand where his father worked as a pump operator in junior management position in MECON Colony situated in Doranda area in Ranchi.[19] Unlike Dhoni, his uncle and cousins spell their surname as Dhauni.[18][needs copy edit]
Previously Dhoni was the goalkeeper for his DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir school’s football team,[20] but after seeing his goalkeeping skills, coach Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, one who inspired Dhoni to be a cricketer, picked him to play cricket for his school team.[21] His exceptional wicketkeeping skills allowed him to become the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando Cricket Club (1995–1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship, where he performed well.[17]
From 2001 to 2003, Dhoni worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W), a district in West Bengal.[22][23]