MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni or Mahendra Singh Dhoni or a Lieutenant colonel, Dhoni is a name of a legend and only captain who won ICC Trophy in all formats. He is the best 'finisher' in limited-overs formats also he is the fastest

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a former Indian Cricketer who came out of a small town in India and made people all over the world crazy.

But this introduction is not enough for this legend. Today, we see his struggle journey from a ticket collector to becoming an International Cricketer. Let's deep dive into the incredible journey of our Mahi:

Early Life and Family Background

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 7^th July 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand (at that time Ranchi was a part of Bihar), India. Mahi is the nickname of MS Dhoni. He was born in a middle-class Hindu Rajput family.

His father's name is Paan Singh Dhoni and his mother's name is Devaki Devi. Dhoni's father worked in MECON as a junior manager.

Dhoni has two siblings. He has a sister, Jayanti, and a brother, names Narendra Singh Dhoni.

Education and a Football Lover.

Mahi did his schooling atDAV Jawahar Vidhya Mandir, Ranchi, Bihar. From childhood, he loved to play sports. He was excellent in football and badminton

From A Goalkeeper to Wicket-keeper

In his school days, he didn't like cricket that much. But he was a huge fan of the former cricketer, SachinTendulkar.

From childhood, he was a love to play football. Mahi was the excellent goalkeeper of his school football team. At an early age, Mahi has started playing football at Ranchi District Level.

By impressed with his excellent goalkeeping, a cricket club approached Mahi. They offered him to join their cricket team as a wicket-keeper. MS Dhoni joined the cricket team and started fall in love with cricket. Dhoni's coach was highly impressed with his Wicket-keeping skills, so he became a regular wicketkeeper in Commando Cricket Club.From there his real journey of cricket started.

Started to Fell in Love with Cricket

Dhoni played three years in that club. Slowly, his interesthad shifted towards batting.After continuous practice, Dhoni has become a good batsman. Not only in this club but in school and other clubs, he started getting popular for his mind-blowing sixes.

In 1997-98, due to his excellent performance, Mahi was also selected for the Under 16 Championship.

At that time, Dhoni give the railway exam and fortunately, he got selected. In 2001, for the first time, he was posted at Khadagpur Railway as a TTE (TravelingTicket Examiner).Mahi did such a hectic job throughout the day and along with that, he kept playing cricket.

First Meeting with Sachin Tendulkar

During Dilip's Trophy for the first time, Dhoni met with the legend of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Dhoni was part of Sachin's opponent team where he was playing as a 12th player. He was serving drinks to the other players.During that match, Sachin was also asked Mahi for water. Dhoni passed water with an innocent smile.

A Turning Point Decision

2001 to 2003 Dhoni worked as Ticket Examinerwhere he was living two lives. Dhoni was doing his job with full sincerity. But due to lack of time, his game was not improving at all.

And finally,he decided to quit hisrailway job and planned to give his complete focus,time, and dedication to cricket. Dhoni's father I was quite disappointed with his decision.

The Breakthrough Moment

When he was not an international player, at that time somethinghappened. Dhoni met a girl named Priyanka.They started liking and falling in love with each other. And both were serious about their relationship.

During their affair, Dhoni was selected for the Indian team and slowly people started liking him and his game. He had gone for a foreign tour for match series. When he came back to India, he got a piece of shocking news. A friend of Dhoni told him that Priyanka had a road accident, in which she died.

They were quite unbearable moments for Dhoni. Many people were thinking that maybe he will leave cricket forever. But he bounces back evenstronger.

Selection for India A

The selectors of BCCIsearch for talent from several small townsin India. The group of selectors came to Ranchi where they saw Dhoni's game. They were quite impressed byDhoni's long sixes.And selected Dhoni in the National Cricket Team. This was the very first door for MS Dhoni.

When Dhoni was playing for India A, they had gone for series. Dhoni played his first series against Kenya. The series Dhoni made two centuries and one half-century for India.

MS Dhoni's International Debut

After seeing Dhoni's game, the captain Sourav Ganguly and the team selectors decided to select Dhoni in International Indian Cricket Team in 2004 and Dhoni made his international debut. Mahi was one of the player among 15 player in the team.

Journey Began from 0

In 2004 there was a series against Bangladesh Dhoni was also selected in 11 team players but he had not performed well. In his first international match Dhoni was run out at 0.

Apart from that match, in the rest of the series, his performance was not too good.

An Extraordinary Bounce Back

After some time the captain had shown trust inMahi and his amazing wicket-keeping skillsand select him for the series against Pakistan. Dinesh Kartik was also a good and strong competitor of Dhoni. While Dinesh was already in the team, questions were also being raised on Dhoni's selection.

In the second match of the Pakistan Series, SouravGanguly want to give enough time to Dhoni, so he decided to send himto Number 3. Dhoni came to bat and this time Dhoni came up with a different mind set.

Mahi started to shower fours and sixers. And In his fifth international encounter, he scored 148 runs in 123 balls. against Pakistan, demonstrating excellent batsmanship.This inningwas the first International Century of Dhoni.

With his performance, Dhoni was made an irreplaceable place in the team and the heart of every Indian as well.He entered India's Test team a year later, swiftly establishing himself with a century against Pakistan.

Captain for World Cup Tour

Shortly before the World Cup in 2007, India was not doing well in international matches. India has faced many defeats andthecaptain SouravGanguly resigned from captaincy.

The team had to go to South Africa for T20 World Cup. When team officials asked Sachin about captaincy, he took the first name of Mahi. Team Management agreed with Sachin's opinion and selected Dhoni as the captain of the Indian Team forWorld Cup Tour 2007.And that's how we got our CaptainCool.

T20 World Cup 2007

The team was performingexcellently. The Indian team was looking very strong and winning matches one after the other. India defeated Australia, South Africa, and Pakistan.

The team was performing great in the leadership of MS and India reached to the finals of world cup.Although India set a very low score against Pakistan yet the bowlers, fielders, and Dhoni's strategies were able to defend such a low score.

India won by 5 runs and liftedthe first T20WorldCup. Dhoni's performance in World Cup made him the ODI captain of team India.

In 2008, India won the commonwealth Series in Australia by defeating Australia.

Dhoni as Thala

Indian Premier League (IPL) has also started in 2008. And Dhoni e was the highest page cricketer in the IPL auction. Dhoni has started playing for CSK (Chennai Super Kings).

Under Dhoni's leadership, Chennai Super Kings have won the IPL title 3 times. The team of Chennai Super Kings has played the most number of final matches eight times in the history of IPL which is a record in itself.Dhoni is not MS Dhoni for Chennai Cricket Lovers, he will be the Thala forever.

ICC ODI World Cup 2011

In 2011, at this time India was the host country for ODI World Cup.The confidence of the Indian team was high. And the world cup was going well. India won matches, by defeating Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherland, and West Indies.

India entered into quarter-finals against Australia. India won this match and beating Australia, the top team in the cricket world reached the semi-finals.

On 30 March 2011, India played semi-finals against Pakistan (which was a strong team at that time) in Mohali. India won the semi-finals by 29 runs and reached the Finals of World Cup.

As the team was winning the matches, all the Indians were beating and everyone was expecting that this year we will win the World Cup in our own home.

India and Srilanka played finals on 2 April 2011 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Batting first, Sri Lanka had set a target of 274 runs for India. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir took charge of India's innings after the first two wickets fell. Dhoni came to bat early and took charge of the team's innings.

Dhoni played an unbeaten inningof 91 runs in 79 balls to give India victory before the entire 50 overs were played.India won the match by 6 wickets after 28 years.And India became the first country to win the ODI World Cup on its land.

As soon as India won the World Cup, the sky was filled with fireworks, crowds came on the streets and every Indian was celebrating the victory.That night will always be unforgettable for every Indian.

Join Indian Territorial Army

Dhoni was not only served our country as a Cricketer, but also he has an enduring association with the Armed Forces.

MS Dhoni joined the Indian Territorial Army on November 1, 2011, after the winning the world cup. He has also awarded the rank of LieutenantColonel and joined his battalion in Jammu and Kashmir.

Dhoni was the second cricket player after Kapil Dev who earned such an honorable title.

MS Dhoni: Net Worth

According to sources, MS Dhoni's net worth is approximately 103 Million US$. Dhoni was also one of the highest-earning sportsmen in 2012, according tothe world-famous magazine, Forbes.

Also, not only in earnings Dhoni was the highest taxpayer sportsman in India for the continuous three years 2012, 2013, 2014. He had also invested in various sectors. He owned a hotel, Mahi Residency inRanchi.

His Married Life and Children

Dhoni met with a girl named Sakshi Singh Rawat in Kolkata. Dhoni first time met Sakshi during the match against Pakistan. But this is not the complete picture.

Dhoni and Sakshi were known each other since childhood. They studied in the same school. But after few years, Sakshi and her family shifted to Dehradun, so they lost touch with each other.

But their destiny planned something else. After long years, they met again. They both started liking each other. Dhoni is an absolute family man.

On 4 July2010, this beautiful couple has tied in a pure knot of marriage. After five years of marriage, on February 6, 2015, Dhoni and Sakshi have blessed with a beautiful angel girl. Her name is Ziva Dhoni.

MS Dhoni and Spot Fixing Controversies

From the beginning of IPL, Dhoni was playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). During 2015, the entire CSK team and Dhoni's name raisedin IPL spot-fixing. According to the sources, Dhoni was in contact with Gurunath Meiyappan. Gurunath's name was the among betting charge sheet.

During 2015 IPL spot-fixing, Dhoni's name emerged as he was in contact with Gurunath Meiyappan, who was named in the betting charge sheet. Due to the spot-fixing, CSK and RR (Rajasthan Royals) suffered two years suspensionsto theIPL, but BCCI has allowed team players to play in other teams.

In 2015 and 2016 Dhoni played for Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). Dhoni was also the captain of team RPS.

Awards and Achievements

MS Dhoni is a legend and a youth icon. The list of his achievements is as long as the list of his struggles and failures. Here are some highlights of his achievements and awards are as a captainof the Indian Cricket Team and as anIndividual are giving below:

MTV Youth Icon of the year

In 2006, Dhoni became the national icon and won the MTV Youth Icon Award.

ICC T20 World Cup Trophy

In the captaincy of MS Dhoni, Team India lifted the T20 World Cup Trophy on24 September 2007.This was the first time in the history of cricket, India won T20 World Cup.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

MS Dhoni received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007-2008. This award is the highest achievement for a sportsperson.

ICC ODI Player of the Year

Dhoni was receivedawardas the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

Padma Shri

In 2009, Dhoni was honored by PadmaShri. It is the fourth highest civilian award in India.

ICC Cricket World Cup

2^nd April 2011 is the date which is unforgettable for every Indian. MS Dhoni led India, and after 28 years India lift the world cup on our land, Wankhede Stadium, India.

ICC Champions Trophy

Team India won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, which was led by Captain Mahi.

Padma Bhushan

Dhoni was awarded by PadmaBhushan in 2018. He received this honor, thethird highest civilian award byPresident Shri Ram NathKovind.

These are just a few awards and many more records are recorded in the pages of cricket history in the name of MS Dhoni.

MS Dhoni's Story on Screen: Movies and Series

Bollywood had also made amovie based on the life of this legend, MS Dhoni. The movie's name was 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'. The film was released in 2016.

This film depicted Dhoni's journey from childhood to the ICC world cup 2011. Sushant Singh Rajput had portrayed the excellent role of Dhoni for which he worked very hard.

Also, there is a web series that is based on Dhoni's life and his entire journey in Chennai Super Kings in the IPL (Indian Premier League). The web series was titled 'Roar of the Lion' and

released on 20 March 2019.

A SilentRetirement

Just as Dhoni had made a place in the hearts of the Indian team and Indians peacefully, he also announced his retirement calmly.

During the pandemic, on 15 August2020, the 74^thIndependence Day of India, around 7 PM, MS Dhoni announced his retirement officially from international cricket.

Unheard Facts About MS Dhoni

Here are few things that you don't know about Mahi:

• Dhoni's career has taken an unexpected turning point before Cricket. For two years, he worked as a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Khadagpur Railway Station.
• Dhoni didn't play in any renowned cricket academy. He was the result of Small-town Talent Spotting Events, an initiative by BCCI. In 2003, Mahi was directly selected for the national team.
• Mahi didn't much interested in cricket. He used to watch cricket only because of Sachin Tendulkar. Football and Badminton were his first calling.
• MS Dhoni was an excellent goalkeeper in his school football team.
• Mahi was the one and only player who won the ICC ODI Player of the Year Award twice, in the years 2008 and 2009.
• The SignatureShot wasn't invented by Dhoni. Dhoni learned this shot from his childhood friend and teammate, named Santosh Lal.
• The first meeting of Dhoni and Sakshi happened in Kolkata during a match against Pakistan.
• MS Dhoni was the only captain in the world who wonICC (International Cricket Council) Trophy in all formats.

Meanwhile, T20 World Cup in 2007, ODI World Cup 2011, and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

SureshRaina is the best friend of MS Dhoni. Their brotherhood bond is very old. After the announcement of Dhoni's retirement, Suresh Raina also took retirement from International Cricket.

A ForeverLegend

With his excellent decision-making skills, calmly handling high-pressure matches on the field, fastest wicket-keeping skills, a great finisher, a great soldier, and responsible citizen, Dhoni served his country.

Dhoni was not just a player, he played like a hope for every Indian.Every Indian believed that as long as Dhoni is at the crease, India can win matches even under conditions.