Barring Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni is arguably the most popular and definitely the most scrutinised cricketer from India. He has done so coming from the cricketing backwaters, the mining state of Jharkhand, and through a home-made batting and wicketkeeping technique, and a style of captaincy that scales the highs and lows of both conservatism and unorthodoxy. Under Dhoni's captaincy, India have won the top prize in all formats: the No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007.
Dhoni, then a ticket inspector with the Indian Railways, had escaped all attention bar the odd whisper among the followers of club cricket in Kolkata until he was 23 when he blasted two centuries in a triangular 50-over tournament for India A in Nairobi in 2004. Long-haired and fearless, he soon swaggered into international cricket, and became an instant darling of the crowds with ODI innings of 148 and 183 within a year of his debut.
Dhoni demonstrated all that was right with the new middle-class India. He didn't respect reputations, but never disrespected. He improvised, he learned, but didn't make an apology about his batting style, which was not the most elegant. He still batted with low, hockey hands, he still didn't look elegant but became a multi-faceted ODI batsman, one who could accumulate, one who could rebuild, and one who could still unleash those big sixes.
Along the way Dhoni showed leadership skills, which were recognised when Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy in 2007. Just before that announcement from Dravid, Dhoni had taken a bunch of kids to South Africa and was leading India to a World Cup win in a format the country didn't even take seriously. The ODI captaincy was natural progression, and Anil Kumble just kept the seat warm in Tests for a year.
Dhoni brought to captaincy a thick skin and relative indifference to results that an Indian captain needs to keep the job for long. Along with coach Gary Kirsten, he put his senior performers in a comfortable place, and they returned the favour with some of their best years in international cricket. His calmness on the field helped and worked like a charm in the shorter formats, although tactically he sometimes sat back for too long in Tests. All that can't argue against the fact that India had some of their best years in Test cricket, in terms of tangible achievement, under Dhoni, and that Dhoni has for years been among the best few ODI batsmen in the world.
However, post the 50-over World Cup win in 2011, which Dhoni sealed with a timely 91 and his patented helicopter shot, reality struck, and an ageing team kept losing in unfamiliar conditions. After eight straight Test losses away from home, Dhoni the captain came under immense pressure, which was accentuated by a 2-1 home series loss to England in 2012-13, the first time India had lost at home in more than eight years. This brought out a new chapter in Dhoni's career wherein he seemed more assertive as a captain, started building a new team, played his best Test innings on a turner to win India the Chennai Test against Australia, and became the first captain to lead India to win four wins in a series. Sterner tests waited.
Having surpassed Tendulkar as the highest-earning Indian sportsman, Dhoni remains the advertiser's dream and a poster boy for modern-day India, but off the field, he has seldom courted attention or publicity.
Dhoni, then a ticket inspector with the Indian Railways, had escaped all attention bar the odd whisper among the followers of club cricket in Kolkata until he was 23 when he blasted two centuries in a triangular 50-over tournament for India A in Nairobi in 2004. Long-haired and fearless, he soon swaggered into international cricket, and became an instant darling of the crowds with ODI innings of 148 and 183 within a year of his debut.
Dhoni demonstrated all that was right with the new middle-class India. He didn't respect reputations, but never disrespected. He improvised, he learned, but didn't make an apology about his batting style, which was not the most elegant. He still batted with low, hockey hands, he still didn't look elegant but became a multi-faceted ODI batsman, one who could accumulate, one who could rebuild, and one who could still unleash those big sixes.
Along the way Dhoni showed leadership skills, which were recognised when Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy in 2007. Just before that announcement from Dravid, Dhoni had taken a bunch of kids to South Africa and was leading India to a World Cup win in a format the country didn't even take seriously. The ODI captaincy was natural progression, and Anil Kumble just kept the seat warm in Tests for a year.
Dhoni brought to captaincy a thick skin and relative indifference to results that an Indian captain needs to keep the job for long. Along with coach Gary Kirsten, he put his senior performers in a comfortable place, and they returned the favour with some of their best years in international cricket. His calmness on the field helped and worked like a charm in the shorter formats, although tactically he sometimes sat back for too long in Tests. All that can't argue against the fact that India had some of their best years in Test cricket, in terms of tangible achievement, under Dhoni, and that Dhoni has for years been among the best few ODI batsmen in the world.
However, post the 50-over World Cup win in 2011, which Dhoni sealed with a timely 91 and his patented helicopter shot, reality struck, and an ageing team kept losing in unfamiliar conditions. After eight straight Test losses away from home, Dhoni the captain came under immense pressure, which was accentuated by a 2-1 home series loss to England in 2012-13, the first time India had lost at home in more than eight years. This brought out a new chapter in Dhoni's career wherein he seemed more assertive as a captain, started building a new team, played his best Test innings on a turner to win India the Chennai Test against Australia, and became the first captain to lead India to win four wins in a series. Sterner tests waited.
Having surpassed Tendulkar as the highest-earning Indian sportsman, Dhoni remains the advertiser's dream and a poster boy for modern-day India, but off the field, he has seldom courted attention or publicity.
Records
Test cricket
- Dhoni's maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad (148) is the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper. Only three centuries by two other wicket-keepers (Kamran Akmal and Adam Gilchrist – 2) were faster than Dhoni's 93 ball century.[
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India defeated Australia by 320 runs on 21 October 2008, biggest ever win in terms of runs for India.
- Dhoni holds the record for most catches by an Indian player in an innings. He achieved this feat by taking six catches during the first innings of the third test against New Zealand in Wellington in April 2009.
- Dhoni also equalled Syed Kirmani's record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicket-keeper. Syed Kirmani has effected 6 dismissals (5 catches and 1 stumping) against New Zealand in 1976. Dhoni now has equalled that record for most dismissals with 6 dismissals (all 6 catches) against New Zealand in 2009.
- Dhoni currently ranks No. 1 in the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicket-keepers. Dhoni has now been involved in 248 dismissals. The following is the list of top five Indian wicket-keepers, in terms of all-time dismissals in test matches: Dhoni (248 dismissals), Syed Kirmani (198 dismissals), Kiran More (130 dismissals), Nayan Mongia (107 dismissals) and Farokh Engineer (82 dismissals).
- Dhoni is the second wicketkeeper to have effected 6 dismissals in an innings apart from a fifty in each inning of a Test match. Denis Lindsay had accomplished the feat for South Africa against Australia at Johannesburg in December 1966 — 69 & 182 and 6 catches + 2 catches.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India reached their highest test score of 726–9 (decl) during Sri Lanka's tour of India in 2009. Their 2–0 victory in the series took them to the number 1 ranking in Test cricket for the first time in history.
- Under Dhoni's captaincy, India did not lose a test match until the first test versus South Africa in Nagpur in February 2010. As a captain, he holds a record for longest unbeaten run in tests from his debut, 11 tests (8 wins and 3 draws). This record crossed former Australian captain Warwick Armstrong's run of 10 unbeaten tests (8 wins, 2 draws) from the debut. In Dhoni's streak, however, there was a period of injury in which Virender Sehwag led the side (for 3 draws). So India's unbeaten streak was for 14 tests, of which 11 were Dhoni's.
- However Dhoni's unbeaten streak of 11 Test matches ended during India's tour of England in 2011 and England also replaced India from No. 1 spot in ICC Test team rankings.
- Dhoni shares with Nayan Mongia the record of most dismissals (8) by an Indian wicket-keeper in a Test match (as of February 2013).
- Dhoni holds the record of most dismissals (8 – 7 catches and 1 stumping) by an Indian wicket-keeper in a Test match which includes at least one stumping (as of Feb 2013).
- Dhoni holds the world record for most stumpings (12) in test wins as a captain (as of February 2013)
- Dhoni’s 224 is the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests bettering Sachin Tendulkar’s 217 against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 1999.
- Dhoni has registered the highest Test score by an Indian wicketkeeper. On 193, he beat a long-standing record of 192 held by Budhi Kunderan against England in 1964, also scored in Chennai.
- Dhoni has registered the highest score in Test history by a wicketkeeper-captain beating Englishman Alec Stewart’s 164 Vs South Africa in 1998
- Dhoni is the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 4,000 Test runs.
- Dhoni is the most successful Indian Test captain with 24 Test victories, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.
- Dhoni has the dubious distinction of an Indian captain with most Test defeats overseas with 11 Test losses.[109]
- After hitting a six in third test match between England and India in Southampton, Dhoni has completed 50 sixes as a captain and made a record.
- On 31 October 2005 Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, which is the highest score made by any batsman in the second innings which was latter bettered by Australian player Shane Watson who scored 185* of 96 balls against Bangladesh at Dhaka on 11 April 2011.[47]
- The innings featured 10 Sixes – the most by an Indian in an innings, and the fifth highest in ODIs.
- He broke Adam Gilchrist's record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper.
- The innings set the record for the most number of runs scored in boundaries (120 – 15×4; 10×6) breaking the record held by Saeed Anwar. However this was later broken by Herschelle Gibbs (126 runs in boundaries – 21×4; 7×6) against Australia during his knock of 175.
- The score of 183* equalled Ganguly's innings during the 1999 Cricket World Cup as the highest individual score against Sri Lanka, until Rohit Sharma scored 264 runs in 2014.
- Dhoni has the fourth highest batting average(52.24) in One Day International cricket, in the list of cricketers with more than 5,000 runs.
- Among Indian batsmen who have played more than 50 matches, Dhoni has the highest average. Dhoni's batting average is also the highest among wicketkeepers in ODIs.
- In June 2007, Dhoni(139*) and Mahela Jayawardene(107)[ set a new world record for the sixth wicket partnership of 218 runs against Africa XI during the Afro-Asia Cup.
- Dhoni passed Shaun Pollock's record for the highest individual score by a number seven batsman in one-day internationals during his unbeaten innings of 139.Incidentally, Pollock record stood for just three days as his score of 130 came in the first match of the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup while Dhoni's century came in the third and final match of the series.
- Dhoni also holds the records of the most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicketkeeper and joint International (with Adam Gilchrist) with 6 dismissals (5 catches and one stumping) against England at Headingley 2 September 2007.
- Dhoni holds the Indian record of most dismissals in ODIs. He went past Nayan Mongia's 154 for India on 14 November 2008 when he caught Ian Bell off Zaheer Khan atMadhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot. However including 3 ODIs against Africa XI, his 155th dismissal was TM Dilshan caught off Munaf Patel at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on 24 August 2008.
- Dhoni, when he was on four during his innings of 23 against Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Saturday, completed 4,000 runs in ODIs. Having already effected 165 dismissals (125 catches + 40 stumpings), Dhoni became the sixth wicketkeeper after Adam Gilchrist, Andy Flower, Alec Stewart, Mark Boucher and Kumar Sangakkara to complete the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in the history of ODIs. Dhoni’s feat of completing the "double" of 4,000 runs and 100 dismissals in only 114 innings is a world record. He is the youngest wicket-keeper batsman to do so (27 years and 208 days).
- Dhoni is the only captain in the ODIs to score a century while batting at number 7. He did it against Pakistan in December 2012.
- On 31 January 2014, MS Dhoni became the fourth fastest batsman to complete 8,000 runs in one-day cricket during the fifth and final ODI against New Zealand.
- The first non-Australian captain to win 100 ODI matches, and first Indian captain to achieve the mark. He is also the third captain to win 100 matches, after two Australians,Ricky Ponting, and Allan Border.
- Third skipper captained in 300 international matches after Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming . He is also the only player to lead his side in 50 or more matches in all three formats of the game (60 Tests, 189 ODIs and 51 T20Is)
Honorary awards and appreciations
- ICC ODI Player of the Year : 2008, 2009
- ICC World ODI XI: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
- ICC World Test XI: 2009, 2010, 2013
- LG People’s Choice Award : 2013
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest honor given for achievement in sports, 2007–08.
- Honorary doctorate degree by De Montfort University in August 2011.