MS Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the greatest cricketers to have donned the jersey of the Indian Cricket Team. 

From a Traveling Ticket Examiner (TTE) in Indian Railways to leading India to three ICC trophies, Dhoni is a perfect blend of a role model and a superstar. Captain of India’s most successful side, most unorthodox yet most potent keeper, Dhoni is among the rarest players who have been on cloud nine throughout their cricketing career. 

A batting powerhouse, MS Dhoni possesses the ability to destroy bowling attacks while chasing the scores down and leaving opponents in difficult situations with his tactical plans. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, India won two World Cups, a Champions Trophy, and two Asia Cups, while his beloved CSK has won five IPL titles apart from being two-time Champions League winners. 

The Ranchi-born was a fan of badminton and football during his school days; however, when his school team needed a wicketkeeper, Dhoni, a goalkeeper, was introduced to cricket as a part-time makeshift, but that temporary job soon turned into a permanent love affair. He impressed with his quick reflexes behind the stumps, and on the back of his performances at the club level, Dhoni was selected in the U-19 team for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. From thereon, there was looking back for the wicketkeeper-batter who took great strides at the U-19 level, then played for the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team, and made his Ranji debut for Bihar during the 1999-2000 season. 

From 2001–03, Dhoni also worked as a TTE at Kharagpur Railway Station and played for Railways back then. However, he quit his job to give cricket a go, a move which worked wonders. Dhoni played the 2002–03 season for the Jharkhand state team in the Ranji Trophy, and later in the Deodhar Trophy. After that, the wicketkeeper-batter was picked by the East Zone, where he fast-tracked through BCCI’s small-town talent-spotting initiative. 

In 2003–04, Dhoni toured Zimbabwe and Kenya with India ‘A’, where he made headlines with his hard-hitting batting. The national selectors could not ignore the noise produced by Dhoni’s blade, and he was called up for the Bangladesh tour in 2004. However, the talented Dhoni had a disappointing start to his ODI career as he got run out for a duck. Soon, he brought the world in awe of his marvelous strokeplay. In 2005, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly gave Dhoni a go at No. 3 in an ODI against Pakistan in Visakhapatnam. Dhoni smashed an impressive 148 off 123 balls. Later that year, he scored his career-defining knock of unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka to stamp his authority and solve India’s long-standing problem of finding a quality wicketkeeper-batter. In December, Dhoni was handed his maiden Test cap against the Lankans and made his T20I debut against South Africa. 

He was part of the 2007 ODI World Cup and got out for a duck twice in the tournament. After India’s early exit from the 50-over mega-event, Dhoni’s Ranchi residence was pelted with stones. Later that year, he was named the Indian skipper for the inaugural T20 World Cup, and Dhoni helped India clinch an ICC trophy after a leap of 24 years. 

Four years later, he gifted 1.25 billion people with lifetime memories by lifting the ODI World Cup. Dhoni had a quiet campaign, but he was on fire when it mattered the most, and in Ravi Shastri’s words: 

“Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificent strike into the crowd. India lifts the World Cup after 28 years. The party started in the dressing room. And it’s an Indian captain, who’s been absolutely magnificent on the night of the final.”

A couple of years later, Dhoni became the first (and only) captain to have won all three ICC trophies when he led India to their second Champions Trophy title. Next year, the veteran of the game suddenly retired from the longest format during the 2014–15 tour of Australia. Dhoni featured in 90 Tests. During the same tour, when India were preparing for the 2015 World Cup, Dhoni’s daughter was born, but he chose to stay with the team in Australia and met his wife and daughter after India’s semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual champions Australia. 

In 2017, Dhoni again, without giving clues, handed over the limited-overs captaincy to Virat Kohli during the home series against England. Dhoni played the 2017 Champions Trophy and the World Cup of 2019 both under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. 

During the 2019 ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, Dhoni stitched a 106-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja, but when he got run out for 50, India’s hopes were shattered. It became Dhoni’s last international game.

Over the years, Dhoni has also contributed to the Indian Premier League. In 2008, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) signed Dhoni as a marquee player, and safe to say, he has given his heart and soul to the franchise. Dhoni helped CSK clinch five IPL titles. When Dhoni’s beloved franchise got banned from the league due to a spot-fixing scandal, he shifted his base to Pune, but as soon as CSK returned to the IPL, Dhoni again wore the yellow jersey.

In August 2020, ahead of the 13th IPL season, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket through an emotional video post on Instagram and thanked his senior and junior colleagues. During IPL 2020, CSK didn’t qualify for the playoffs for the first time in IPL’s history. However, the CSK management showed faith in Dhoni and retained him for INR 12 crore ahead of mega-auction for the 2021 edition.

Dhoni awarded the faith by leading his beloved franchise to their fourth IPL title win in the same year. CSK defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final.

The subsequent season (IPL 2022) proved to be disappointing for CSK and Dhoni as Ravindra Jadeja led the Yellow Army for the first half of the tournament, but lack of wins hurt his chances of continuing as captain. Dhoni was reinstated as the skipper. CSK failed to defend their title and ended up just one place over their bottom-placed rivals, Mumbai Indians. 

Dhoni’s CSK starred in another comeback story. With no captaincy shift, Dhoni remained the CSK skipper and led the franchise to their 5th IPL trophy, which took them on par with the Mumbai Indians.

CSK defeated Gujarat Titans in a humdinger, and fittingly, it was Jadeja who sealed the deal with the final two hits.

‘Thala’ Dhoni battled a knee injury throughout the 2023 season. Despite the struggle, he did not miss even a single match and managed to display his finishing charisma at times, arriving to bat in the final few overs on most occasions.

While IPL 2023 was expected to be his swansong, Dhoni was retained by CSK for the 2024 season. He underwent knee surgery immediately after the IPL 2023 final and recuperated, making himself fit for IPL 2024, which is likely to be his last as a player.

With the captain cool handing over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the 17th edition, Dhoni's mention of the 'new role' seemed fitting, a news that broke millions of hearts across the globe. Will he come out to stand behind the stumps? Will he finish matches again? Or the 2023 IPL final was his last dance?

(As of March 2024)