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Mahendra Singh Dhoni,
pronunciation (help·info) (
Hindi:
महेन्द्र सिंह धोनी ) (born July 7, 1981 in
Ranchi, Bihar) (now in
Jharkhand) is an Indian
cricketer and the current
captain of the
Indian national cricket team.
Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08 , the
Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and 2010 against Australia 2–0 and
2011 Cricket World Cup in which India beat every previous world cup winning team. His Test, ODI record is best among all the Indian captains to date. He also captained
Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent
IPL 2011 and in the Champions League. He is now captain of India in all
three forms of the game and also led the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in
Sri Lanka and
New Zealand. Under Dhoni's captaincy India became the first team after a gap of more than 20 Years to whitewash Australia in a Test series. Dhoni also led the Indian team to the number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the
ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the
Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. Dhoni was named as captain of
Wisden's first-ever Dream Test XI Team in 2009 and has topped the list of world’s top 10 earning cricketers compiled by
Forbes.
[1] He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009. In the final of the
2011 Cricket World Cup, he hit 91 not out of just 79 balls to lead India to victory. For his outstanding batting in the final, he was awarded as the man of the match. The TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.
[2] According to the SportsPro magazine Dhoni is 10th most valuable brand in field of sports worldwide and number 1 among all Asian superstars.
[3] Among captains who have led in at least 25 Tests, MS Dhoni has the best win-loss ratio (5.00). He is followed by Steve Waugh (4.55) and Mike Brearley (4.50). Dhoni has now led in five away-Test wins bringing him joint-second on the list of Indian captains with most wins in away Tests.
Personal life
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in
Ranchi, Bihar (now in
Jharkhand) in a
Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi.
[4] His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the
Almora District of
Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from
Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in
MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti and a brother Narendra. Dhoni had long hair which he has now shortened; he cut it because he wanted to look like his favourite film star
John Abraham(actor). He likes bikes. A Hummer to add to the four cars and 23 high-speed motorcycles already parked in his garage in Ranchi. He endorses 15 brands from clothes to cold Drinks. He is also one of the highest income tax payers in last year
[5] Dhoni is a fan of
Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate
Sachin Tendulkar,
Bollywood actor
Amitabh Bachchan and singer
Lata Mangeshkar.
[6][7]
Dhoni studied at
DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM, Shyamli, Ranchi) Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and
football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni 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, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became 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 and he performed well.
[5] Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10
th standard.
[8]
Dhoni married Sakshi (née Rawat) on July 04, 2010. Sakshi Dhoni, a native of
Dehradun,
Uttarakhand. At the time of their marriage, she was studying Hotel Management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. Both, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sakshi Rawat were school time friends and had studied together at DAV School, Shamily in Ranchi and their families also have very good relation. Father of Dhoni worked with Sakshi’s father in MECON, Ranchi. After the retirement of Sakshi’s father, their family shifted to their native place,
Dehradun.
The wedding stumped the media and the fans as it took place only a day after the couple got engaged.
[9][10] Bollywood actress
Bipasha Basu, a close friend of Dhoni, was quick to inform the media that the wedding was planned for months and was not a spur of the moment decision.
[11]
Playing style
Dhoni is a right-handed
batsman and
wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of the number of wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team —
Parthiv Patel,
Ajay Ratra and
Dinesh Karthik also followed this route. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the
Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to
Kenya in 2004. Along with
Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.
[citation needed]
Mahendra Singh Dhoni stumps a South African batsman during a match in Chennai in 2008.
Dhoni tends to play mostly from the back foot with a pronounced bottom hand grip. He has a very fast hand speed through the ball which often results in the ball racing across the ground. From this initial stance his feet do not show much movement which sometimes results in chasing balls while not coming to the pitch of the ball or to some deliveries catching the inside edge.
Dhoni scored 148 against
Pakistan in his fifth
ODI match in 2005 — then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against
Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the test team. Consistent performances in ODI cricket through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni briefly ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the
ICC ODI ratings.
[5] The shot that he plays is fondly called "The Helicopter Shot".
Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the
ICC Champions trophy,
DLF Cup, away bilateral series against
West Indies and
South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the
2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for a
duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the
Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against
Bangladesh. For the
tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.
[12]
Domestic career
Junior cricket
Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy).
Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999–2000
Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by
Punjab U-19's 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate
Yuvraj Singh making 358.
[13] Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings.
[14] MS Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.
Bihar team
Dhoni made his
Ranji Trophy debut for
Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen year old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against
Assam cricket team.
[15] Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century against
Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause.
[16] Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01
[17] did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches.
[18] Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.
In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the
East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer
Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone.
[19] He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.
[20]
The future captain was discovered via the
BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative
TRDW. Dhoni was discovered by
TRDO PC Podar, captain of
Bengal in the 1960s, when he saw Dhoni play for
Jharkhand at a match in
Jamshedpur in 2003, and sent a report to the
National Cricket Academy.
[21]
India A team
He was recognized for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour of
Zimbabwe and
Kenya.
[22] Against the Zimbabwe XI in
Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match.
[23] In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with a half-century.
[24] Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries – 120
[25] and 119*
[26] against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Ave:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then
captain – Sourav Ganguly
[27] and Ravi Shastri amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach
Sandeep Patil recommended Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as wicket-keeper/batsman.
[28]
Indian Premier League
M.S.Dhoni was contracted by the
Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the
IPL for the first season Auctions which was closely followed by
Andrew Symonds. Dhoni is the present captain of the
Chennai Super Kings team.
ODI career
ODI Career of Dhoni. Brown line indicates 10 match average while the orange line indicates career average progression.
The Indian team in the 2000s saw the use of
Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent.
[27] The Indian cricket establishment also saw the entry of wicket-keeper/batsmen from the junior ranks with talents like
Parthiv Patel and
Dinesh Karthik – both
India U-19 Captains in the test squads.
[27] With Dhoni making a mark in the India-A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the
Bangladesh tour in 2004/05.
[29] Dhoni did not have a great start to his ODI career, getting
run out for a duck on debut.
[30] In spite of an average series against
Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the Pakistan ODI series.
[31] In the second match of the
series, Dhoni in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 in
Vishakapatnam off only 123 deliveries. Dhoni's 148 erased the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper,
[32] a record that he would re-write before the end of the year.
Dhoni had few batting opportunities in the first two games of the
Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series (October–November 2005) and was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI at
Sawai Mansingh Stadium (
Jaipur). Sri Lanka had set India a target of 299 after a
Kumar Sangakkara century and in reply, India lost Tendulkar early. Dhoni was promoted to accelerate the scoring and ended the game with an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls, winning the game for India
[33] – an innings described in
Wisden Almanack (2006) as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'.
[34] The innings set various
records including the highest Individual score in ODI cricket in the second innings,
[35] a record that still stands. Dhoni ended the series with the highest run aggregate (346)
[36] and was awarded the Man of the series award for his efforts. In December 2005, Dhoni was signed by
BCCI to a B-grade contract, skipping the initial C-grade level due to his performance on the cricketing field.
[37]
Dhoni bowling in the nets. He rarely bowls at international level.
India scored 328 in 50 overs with Dhoni contributing 68 in their first match of 2006 against
Pakistan. However the team finished poorly, scoring just 43 runs in the last eight overs and lost the match due to
Duckworth-Lewis method.
[38] In the third match of the series, Dhoni came in with India in a precarious situation and scored 72 runs off just 46 balls that included 13 boundaries to help India take a 2–1 lead in the series.
[39][40] The final match of the series had a repeat performance as Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls to enable India win the series 4–1.
[41] In recognition of his consistent ODI performances, Dhoni overtook
Ricky Ponting as number one in the
ICC ODI rankings for batsmen on 20 April 2006.
[42] His reign lasted just a week as
Adam Gilchrist's performance against
Bangladesh moved him to the top spot.
[43]
Two canceled series in Sri Lanka, one due to the withdrawal of South Africa from the Unitech Cup due to security concerns
[44] and the replacement 3-match ODI bilateral series against Sri Lanka washed due to rain,
[45] was India's prelude to another disappointing tournament –
DLF Cup 2006-07. Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. India's lack of preparation showed in the
2006 ICC Champions Trophy as they lost to
West Indies and
Australia, though Dhoni scored a half-century against West Indies. The story of the
ODI series in
South Africa was the same for both Dhoni and India as Dhoni scored 139 runs in 4 matches and India lost the series 4–0. From the start of the WI ODI series, Dhoni had played 16 matches, hit just two fifties and averaged 25.93. Dhoni received criticism on his wicket keeping technique from former wicketkeeper
Syed Kirmani.
[46]
Preparations for the
2007 Cricket World Cup improved as India recorded identical 3–1 victories over
West Indies and
Sri Lanka and Dhoni had averages in excess of 100 in both these series. However, India unexpectedly crashed out the World Cup after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Dhoni was out for a
duck in both these matches and scored 29 runs in the tournament. After the loss to
Bangladesh in
2007 Cricket World Cup, the house that Dhoni was constructing in his home-town Ranchi was vandalized and damaged by political activists of
JMM.
[47] The local police arranged for security for his family as India exited the World cup in the first round.
[48]
Dhoni put his disappointment in the World cup behind him by scoring 91* against
Bangladesh after India were left in a tight spot earlier in the run-chase. Dhoni was declared the man of the match for his performance, his fourth in ODI cricket. He was also later adjudged the man of the series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni had a good Afro-Asia Cup, getting 174 runs in 3 matches at an average of 87.00, with a blitzkrieg 139 not out of 97 balls, a Man Of The Match innings, in the 3rd ODI.
Dhoni was nominated as the vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series.
[12] Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade contract in December 2005, was awarded an 'A' grade contract in June 2007. And also he was elected as captain of Indian Twenty-20 Cricket Team for the World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni equalled his idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching 5 English players and stumping one.
[49] He led India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy in South Africa with a victory over arch rivals Pakistan in an intensely fought final on 24 September 2007, and became the second Indian captain to have won a World cup in any form of cricket, after
Kapil Dev. Dhoni took his first wicket and ODI wicket on 30 September 2009. He bowled
Travis Dowlin from the
West Indies. During the series between India and Australia, Dhoni hit an aggressive 124 runs in just 107 balls, in the second ODI, and a measured knock of 71 runs in 95 balls, along with Yuvraj Singh, saw India home by 6 wickets, in the third ODI.
Dhoni topped the ICC ODI Batsman rankings for several months continuously in 2009, it was Hussy from Australia who replaced him for the top spot in the beginning of 2010.
Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009 scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings at an astonishing average of 70.43. Dhoni was also the joint top-scorer in ODIs in 2009 along with Ricky Ponting, but the latter having played in 30 innings.
Test career
Test Career of Dhoni. Brown line indicates 10 innings average while the orange line indicates career average progression.
Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, Dhoni replaced
Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicket-keeper.
[50] Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match that was marred by rain. Dhoni came to the crease when the team was struggling at 109/5 and as wickets kept falling around him, he played an aggressive innings and was the last man dismissed.
[51] Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second Test and his quick scoring rate (half century came off 51 balls) aided India to set a target of 436 and the Sri Lankans were bowled out for 247.
[52]
India toured Pakistan in January/February 2006 and Dhoni scored his maiden century in the second Test at Faisalabad. India were left in a tight spot as Dhoni was joined by
Irfan Pathan with the team still 107 away from avoiding follow-on. Dhoni played his typical aggressive innings as he scored his maiden test century in just 93 balls after scoring his first fifty in just 34 deliveries.
[53]
Dhoni at fielding practice.
Dhoni followed his maiden test century with some prosaic batting performances over the next three matches, one against Pakistan that India lost and two against England that had India holding a 1–0 lead going into the test match. Dhoni was the top scorer in India's first innings in the third test at
Wankhede Stadium as his 64 aided India post a respectable 279 in reply to England's 400. However Dhoni and the Indian fielders dropped too many catches and missed many dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of
Andrew Flintoff (14).
[54] Dhoni failed to collect the
Harbhajan Singh delivery cleanly as Flintoff went on to make 36 more runs as England set a target of 313 for the home team, a target that India were never in the reckoning. A batting collapse saw the team being dismissed for 100 and Dhoni scored just 5 runs and faced criticism for his wicket-keeping lapses as well as his shot selections.
On the
West Indies tour in 2006, Dhoni scored a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at
Antigua. The rest of the series was unremarkable for Dhoni as he scored 99 runs in the remaining 6 innings but his wicket-keeping skills improved and Dhoni finished the series with 13 catches and 4
stumpings. In the test series in South Africa, Dhoni's scores of 34 and 47 were not sufficient to save the second test against the Proteas as India lost the test series 2–1, squandering the chance to build on their first ever Test victory in South Africa (achieved in the first Test match). Dhoni's bruised hands ruled him out of the third test match.
[55]
On the fourth day of the first Test match at
Antigua Recreation Ground,
St John's,
Antigua during
India's tour of West Indies, 2006, Dhoni's flick off
Dave Mohammed to the midwicket region was caught by
Daren Ganga. As the batsman started to walk back, captain Dravid declared the innings when confusion started as the umpires were not certain if the fielder stepped on the ropes and Dhoni stayed for the umpire's verdict. While the replays were inconclusive, the captain of the West Indies side,
Brian Lara, wanted Dhoni to walk-off based on the fielder's assertion of the catch. The impasse continued for more than 15 minutes and Lara's temper was on display with finger wagging against the umpires and snatching the ball from umpire
Asad Rauf. Ultimately, Dhoni walked-off and Dravid's declaration was effected but the game was delayed, and Lara's action was criticized by the commentators and former players. Lara was summoned by the match referee to give an explanation of his actions but he was not fined.
[56]
Dhoni scored two centuries in Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009, a series of 3 matches in which he led India to a 2–0 victory. With this feat, India soared up to the number 1 position in Test cricket for the first time in history. India scored 726–9 (decl) in the third match of this series, which is their highest Test total ever.
[57]
Captain of India
Dhoni was named the captain of India Twenty 20 squad for the inaugural
ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007.
[58] India were crowned champions as Dhoni led the team to victory against
Pakistan in a thrilling contest.
[59] He, then went on to become the ODI captain of the Indian team for the seven-match ODI series against
Australia in September 2007.
[60] He made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 replacing
Anil Kumble who was injured in the third test and who then announced his retirement. Dhoni was vice-captain in this series up to that point.
[61] India eventually won that Test thus clinching the series 2–0 and retained the
Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
[62] Dhoni had previously captained India on a stand-in basis against
South Africa and Australia in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009. After that he managed to lead India in a series-levelling world championship of Tests against the South Africans in Feb 2010. As a result India managed No. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings.
After winning the
2011 ICC Cricket World Cup for India against Sri Lanka on 2nd April 2011 with his match winning knock of unbeaten 91, Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, claiming him to be the best captain he has played under. Tendulkar mentioned that it was Dhoni's calm influence that was rubbing off on all his team-mates and even under such extreme pressure from every corner the way Dhoni handles it and brings the best out of him was just incredible.
Saurav Ganguly also said in an interview to a news channel that Dhoni is the all time greatest captain of India and he has a great record to support this credential.
Two-match ban
Dhoni was handed a two-match ban from playing in the ODI series against Sri Lanka for the team's slow over-rate during the second one-dayer in Nagpur (18 December 2009) by ICC match referee
Jeff Crowe.
[63]
World Cup
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the
2011 Cricket World Cup against Sri Lanka. In the
final, chasing 275 under extreme pressure, Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order, coming before
Yuvraj Singh. When he came to bat, the situation was very demanding, with India needing more than six runs per over and three top order batsmen already dismissed. He started building a good partnership with his former India 'A' teammate
Gautam Gambhir and ran quick singles and twos. Due to good strokeplay and active running between wickets, they kept up with the required run rate. Dhoni was on 60 off 60 balls, but later accelerated with a greater flow of
boundaries, ending with 91 not out off 79 balls. Befitting the occasion, he finished the match with a huge six over long-on off bowler
Nuwan Kulasekara.
Later he admitted in the post match presentation that he came up the order so as to counter the
Muralitharan spin threat as he was very familiar with Murali's bowling, being his team-mate in the
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise
Chennai Super Kings. He had come after the dismissal of
Virat Kohli, also a right-handed batsman. By partnering with the left-handed Gambhir, he ensured a right-left combination at the crease that makes it difficult for bowlers to settle into a rhythm. Yuvraj is left-handed, and would not have formed this combination with Gambhir.
Through this victory, India became only the third team after West Indies and Australia to have won the
World Cup more than once. Over the course of their world cup campaign, they defeated every previous world champion (West Indies in the league stage, and Australia, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka in the knockout rounds).
Sri Lanka
New Zealand
South Africa
Australia
Jacques Henry Kallis was born on 16 October 1975 in Pinelands, Cape Town, 
