MS DHONI BIRTHDAY: With three ICC trophies under his belt, MS Dhoni is regarded as one of the cricket’s greatest captains. Dhoni managed to accumulate a plethora of achievements with the bat in his decade-long career. In international cricket, Dhoni made his debut in December 2004. He announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in 2020. Dhoni won a record-equalling fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title, representing Chennai Super Kings, this year. As Dhoni celebrates his 42nd birthday today, it is time to take a look 42 amazing facts on the World Cup-winning skipper.
MS Dhoni Birthday: Childhood Photos
MS Dhoni Birthday: 42 Facts
1. MS Dhoni met his wife Sakshi in 2007 in Kolkata.
2. He used to work for the Indian Railways before beginning his professional cricket career.
3. He was a TTE (train ticket examiner) in Kharagpur, one of India’s largest railway stations.
4. Other than cricket, Dhoni’s favourite sports are WWE, football and badminton.
5. It is believed that during his initial days in Team India, Dhoni sported a long hairstyle after being inspired by actor John Abraham.
6. He loves hot chocolate.
7. Dhoni loves classic old Bollywood songs and is a huge fan of Kishore Kumar and Mukesh.
8. Dhoni loves automobiles. His garage is filled with vintage motorcycles and some superbikes.
9. In domestic cricket, Dhoni made his debut in the 1999-2000 season.
10. He has scored more than 10773 runs in ODI, 1617 runs in T20s and 4876 Test runs.
11. The only other IPL team other than CSK that Dhoni has played for is Rising Pune Supergiants
12. His highest ODI score (an unbeaten 183) came against Sri Lanka in 2005.
13. Dhoni holds the world record for second-most catches taken as a wicketkeeper in T20Is
14. MS Dhoni is the only Asian captain who has led his team in 200 or more ODI games.
15. He has hit the most international sixes as captain.
16. He also holds the record for most international matches played as captain.
17. His 183 runs against Sri Lanka is also the highest score ever by a wicketkeeper in ODIs.
18. MS Dhoni is the only player ever to feature in 11 IPL finals.
19. He has won a total number of five IPL trophies as a skipper and is tied with Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma.
20. Dhoni’s knock of 224 against Australia in the Chennai Test in 2013 is the second-highest score ever by an Indian captain.
21. In 2018, MS Dhoni broke the world record for most catches taken as a wicketkeeper in T20 cricket.
22. He is the second captain to win both his first home and away Tests.
23. He is also the only Indian captain to win five consecutive series.
24. MS Dhoni is the only captain in cricket history to win all ICC trophies including the T20I World Cup, ODI World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
25. MS Dhoni is the first Indian player to smash 10 sixes in an ODI innings.
26. He is the only wicketkeeper with more than 100 stumpings in ODI cricket.
27. In 2009, MS Dhoni’s captaincy helped India seal the victory on their tour of New Zealand, for the first time in 41 years.
28. He led India to the number one ranking in Test Cricket in 2009.
29. MS Dhoni was awarded the ICC’s ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.
30. Dhoni also won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2007.
31. MS Dhoni’s knock of 91 runs in 79 balls helped India secure their first ODI World Cup in almost 28 years.
32. He has 78 sixes in Test Cricket. It is the second-highest number for an Indian cricketer after Virender Sehwag.
33. Dhoni was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
34. He is the only player in IPL history to have won more than 100 games as captain.
35. A biographical film of MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, with Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead, was released on September 30, 2016.
36. In 2011, MS Dhoni also received the honorary title of Lieutenant Colonel making him only the second player to have received this honour, after Kapil Dev.
37. Mahi is a huge WWE fan and his favourite wrestlers include Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart and Hulk Hogan.
38. Dhoni’s all-time favourite footballer is Zinedine Zidane and his current favourite player is Lionel Messi.
39. MS Dhoni’s signature Helicopter shot was taught to him by his former teammate and close friend Santosh Lal.
40. Dhoni wears the number seven jersey in cricket because his birthday falls on July 7.
41. Dhoni is also the only Indian wicketkeeper ever to score a double-century in Test cricket.
42. MS Dhoni co-owns the ISL franchise Chennaiyin FC along with Abhishek Bachchan.