MS Dhoni – The Serial Winner

The man who won it all. Before the MS Dhoni years, all that Indian cricket had to cherish were hazy memories of the 1983 World Cup triumph. In the space of six years, Dhoni the captain rewrote that script. After leading the team to glory in the 2007 World T20 and the 2011 World Cup, he completed the full set of ICC limited-over trophies by going unbeaten through the Champions Trophy in 2013. And, he also guided India to the No.1 ranking in Test cricket.

And that is far from the full story. While some players saw the Indian T20 League as a lucrative pay cheque, Dhoni threw himself into it with total commitment. In his 11 complete seasons with Chennai, they have missed the play-offs just once, reaching an incredible 8 finals. For him, Chennai’s yellow jersey was no less than India’s blue jersey.

After finishing bottom of the table in 2020, it would have been easy for Dhoni to walk away and for the Chennai Team to reset. Instead, both the captain and the team returned revitalized and won the trophy a fourth time in 2021. Dhoni’s calm and astute leadership has earned him a special place in the world of cricket.

Because of all his achievements as a captain, it’s easy to overlook how exceptional a player Dhoni has been with the bat, and how much he improved his wicketkeeping as the years passed. Who can forget all those epic helicopter shots, the flamboyant no-look run-outs and the stumpings so quick you needed replays to figure out what had happened?

But as with India’s remarkable last-over win against Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup in 2016, the main memories will be of Dhoni coaxing near-miracles from his players, of transforming almost-certain losses into unforgettable victories. This trait is something his players can easily learn from him, as he remains the only man to score more than 500 runs in the final overs of Indian T20 League matches. His great achievements earned him the position of Team India’s mentor for the 2021 T20 World Cup, just a year after his retirement from international cricket.

Dhoni will be seen in the yellow jersey of the Chennai team yet again this year after the franchise spent ₹12 crores to secure the veteran’s services for yet another year.

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MS Dhoni’s Personal Details

- Name
- :
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni
- Date of Birth
- :
- 7th July 1981
- Birthplace
- :
- Ranchi
- Height
- :
- 5′11″
- Batting Style
- :
- Right-handed batter
- Playing Role
- :
- Wicketkeeper-batter
- Major Teams Played For
- :
- Team India, Chennai team, Pune team

MS Dhoni Current Rankings

T20 ---
ODI ---
Test ---

MS Dhoni Career Summary

- Format
- M
- Inn
- Runs
- HS
- Avg
- SR
- 100
- 200
- 50
- 4s
- 6s
- CT
- ST
- Test
- 90
- 144
- 4876
- 224 vs AUS
- 38.09
- 59.11
- 5
- 1
- 33
- 544
- 78
- 256
- 38
- ODI
- 350
- 297
- 10773
- 183* vs SL
- 50.57
- 87.56
- 10
- 0
- 73
- 826
- 229
- 321
- 123
- T20I
- 98
- 85
- 1617
- 56 vs ENG
- 37.60
- 126.13
- 0
- 0
- 2
- 116
- 52
- 57
- 34

MS Dhoni - Key Skills and Strengths

Dhoni’s greatest gift is his assessment of match situations, both as a batter and a captain. Never afraid of taking a gamble as a leader – giving the final over to the inexperienced Joginder Sharma in the World T20 final (2007) – Dhoni the batter functioned the same way, often taking games to the final over before hammering in the final nail. At his best hitting slow bowlers all around the park, he nevertheless won two of his world titles as a captain in conditions not expected to favor his team.

MS Dhoni Captaincy Record

- Format
- Matches
- Won
- Lost
- Draw
- Tie
- NR
- Test
- 60
- 27
- 18
- 15
- 0
- 0
- ODI
- 200
- 110
- 74
- 0
- 5
- 11
- T20I
- 72
- 41
- 28
- 0
- 1
- 2
- I T20 League
- 204
- 121
- 82
- 0
- 0
- 1

MS Dhoni Awards and Achievements

As a batter alone, Dhoni is one of the all-time greats, with 6 Test centuries to go alongside a remarkable ODI record of more than 10,000 runs at an average greater than 50. A master of taking quick singles, he first came to prominence because of his devastating six-hitting abilities. Few who have played for the Indian cricket team have ever hit the ball as hard or as far as Dhoni has.

Here are some of Dhoni’s biggest records and achievements in international cricket:

He remains the only captain to have won the full set of ICC trophies – World Cup (2011), World T20 (2007) and Champions Trophy (2013) – as well as to lead his team to the top of the Test rankings (2009).
No wicketkeeper has captained his national side in as many matches as Dhoni did (60).
His 183* against Sri Lanka in 2005 is the highest ODI score by a wicketkeeper.
No wicketkeeper has equalled his record 123 stumpings in ODIs.
Of those with more than 10,000 runs in ODIs, only Virat Kohli has an average higher than Dhoni’s 50.57.
He was named the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.
He was named captain of ICC Team of the Decade for both ODI and T20I formats in 2020.
Combining the three formats, no one has led his national team as many times as Dhoni has (332).

MS Dhoni’s Indian T20 League Journey

No player in the history of the Indian T20 League has been as closely associated with a franchise as Dhoni has been with Team Chennai. He may have reached a final with Pune during 1 of the 2 seasons when Chennai were banned, but it’s his exploits in the yellow jersey that have made him one of the league’s legends. After title wins in 2010 and 2011, perhaps his greatest achievement was masterminding success in their first season after returning from the ban in 2018.

Here are some of Dhoni’s biggest achievements in the Indian T20 League:

He has played more matches than anyone else in the league (213).
No one else comes close to matching his record of 121 wins as a captain – 116 of them with Chennai.
He has more dismissals behind the stumps (165) than anyone else. That includes a record 39 stumpings.
Dhoni has played in the Indian T20 League final an astonishing 9 times – 8 of them with Chennai, and 1 with Pune. He has won 3 of them.
By the time he finishes the 2021 season, Dhoni would have led in more than 200 games.

- Format
- M
- Runs
- HS
- Avg
- SR
- 100
- 50
- 4s
- 6s
- CT
- ST
- Indian T20 League
- 220
- 4746
- 84* vs Bangalore
- 39.50
- 135.83
- 0
- 23
- 325
- 219
- 126
- 39

MS Dhoni: FAQs

Which footballer referenced Dhoni’s calm leadership before the 2018 World Cup?

Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, spoke of how impressed he was by Dhoni’s unflustered approach.

Where are Dhoni’s roots?

Though he was born in Ranchi, Dhoni’s family hails from Uttarakhand.

Which football team does Dhoni support?

In a tweet back in 2016, Dhoni talked about his love for Manchester United.

Which coach first suggested that Dhoni would be a natural leader?

Greg Chappell was so impressed by Dhoni’s early displays in the Indian jersey that he had no doubt that Dhoni could go on to captain the side.

What is the name of Dhoni’s daughter?

Dhoni’s daughter Ziva was born just as India were starting their defense of the World Cup in 2015. Dhoni only saw her for the first time when she was nearly two months old.