MS Dhoni Biography for UPSC

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, popularly known as ‘Mahi’, is one of the most Internationally acclaimed cricket players and former captain of the Indian Cricket team. A skilled batsman, efficient captain, and flexible wicketkeeper, he played dynamic roles within the team that eventually led India to win the Twenty20 World title. A right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper, he is also one of the top finishers in the limited-over format. He delivered incredible performances throughout his career, soaring the legacy of cricket in India.

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Early Life

• Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in the Ranchi district of Jharkhand on 7 July 1981. He was the youngest of the three children of Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. His family belonged to Hindu Rajputs and was based in the Langara block of the Almora district in Uttarakhand.
• During his schooling at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, he was interested in football and badminton and was the goalkeeper of the football team. Gradually, he got inspired by his coach Keshav Ranjan Banerjee to play cricket for the school team. His exceptional talent in wicketkeeping made him a consistent player for Commando Cricket Club during the period of 1995-1998. He also played for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under – 16 championship during 1997-1998 and gave a notable performance.
• He worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner(TTE) at the Kharagpur Railway station under the South Eastern Railway from 2001 – 2003.

Career in Cricket

• In 1998, Dhoni started his official career in cricket with Central Coalfields Limited (CCL)Team. His performance helped the team reach the A division. Deval Sahay, a former Vice President of the Bihar Cricket Association, was impressed by his performance and recommended him to the Bihar team. Dhoni started playing with the Ranchi team, the junior Bihar team, and finally with the Senior team from Bihar for the Ranji trophy.
• He played for under – 19 Bihar team in Cooch Behar Trophy(1999-2000) and scored well. He also played for the CK Nayudu Trophy in the same year for the East Zone U-19 squad.

Ranji Trophy

• In 1999-2000, Dhoni made his debut for the Ranji trophy at the age of 18. He scored a half-century in the first match against Assam. He gave a satisfactory performance, scoring 283 runs in 5 matches. He scored his first century in the 2000-2001 season against Bengal, playing for the Bihar team. Apart from that, he did not give a noteworthy performance in the season.

Jharkhand Team

• In the 2002- 2023 season, Dhoni managed to score three half-centuries in the Ranji Trophy, and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy. Following this, his hard-hitting style in batting and lower-order contribution started gaining recognition in the cricket circle.
• In the 2003-2004 season, he further improved his performance, scoring a century in the first Ranji ODI tournament against Assam. Dhoni was a part of the East Zone team that won the Deodhar Trophy in 2003-2004. His overall contribution was 244 runs from 4 matches against the Central zone. He again played for the East Zone for the Duleep Trophy finals and scored a half-century in the second innings.
• Finally, Dhoni’s performance garnered the attention of the Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW), an initiative by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to spot small-town talent. Prakash Poddar, a Talent Resource Development Officer, noticed Dhoni’s performance in Jamshedpur in 2003 for the Jharkhand team. He sent a report to the National Cricket Academy, referring to his talent.

India- A team

• He was chosen to be a part of India – A team, the second tier of International Cricket from India, owing to his exceptional performances in the 2003-2004 season. He got selected for India – A squad tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe. He delivered the best performance in wicketkeeping and stumping in the match against Zimbabwe. Also, he pulled off a notable performance in the tri-nation tournament of India – A team with Kenya and Pakistan – A team.
• He maintained consistency, delivering remarkable performances, including a few centuries in the series with an average of 362 runs in 6 innings. Thus, he got noticed by Ravi Shastri and Saurav Ganguly, the then-captain of the Indian Cricket team.

Beginning of International Career

• Dhoni started his International career against Bangladesh (ODI squad) in 2004-2005. Though he had a cold start in the series, he was chosen for the ODI series against Pakistan. Dhoni set the record for achieving the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in his fifth one-day international at Visakhapatnam. He got batting opportunities for two games in the bilateral ODI series against Srilanka. He also set the record for scoring the highest individual score in ODI cricket innings with the highest run aggregate of 346. He also received the title ‘Man of the Series’ for his incredible performance in the series.BCCI rewarded him with a B-grade contract in December 2005.
• Dhoni played with his full potential in the series against Pakistan in 2006, scoring 149 runs in two matches. As a result of his sterling performances throughout the ODI series, Dhoni topped the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen in 2006. He replaced Ricky Ponting and became the fastest batsman to achieve that in just 42 innings. However, he did not deliver a satisfactory performance in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy and ODI series in South Africa. He indeed received criticism for his wicket-keeping technique from Syed Kirmani, a former Indian wicketkeeper. However, he was listed in the World ODI XI by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2016 for his remarkable efforts.
• Prior to the 2007 World Cup, Dhoni scored an average of more than 100 in series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. India crashed out of the World Cup following the defeat to Bangladesh, and Dhoni did not contribute as well. He was back on track by bagging the ‘Man of the Match title in his fourth ODI cricket match against Bangladesh. He also got selected as the ‘Man of the series for the same.
• His position in the Indian cricket team got elevated as he got selected to play the role of vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa and the India-England Seven match ODI series. Along with that, his ‘B’ grade contract with BCCI got upgraded to an ‘A’ grade contract in 2007. In September 2007, he got selected as the Captain of the Indian Cricket team for the World Twenty20. In the same year, he crossed Adam Gilchrist’s record of maximum dismissals in an innings by catching five English players and stumping one.
• On September 30, 2009, Dhoni took his first and only wicket during his career, bowling Tarvis Drowlin of West Indies, during the ICC Champions Trophy. During the course of 2009, Dhoni maintained his form in batting and topped the ICC ODI rankings for the batsman. Michael Hussey of Australia replaced him at the beginning of next year.

Captain of the Indian Team

• His career was at a peak throughout the year 2009. With a score of a total of 1198 runs in 24 innings and a high average score of 70.49 in ODIs, he raised his career graph in 2019. Along with that, he was selected as the captain and wicketkeeper of the World ODI XI by the ICC in the same year. He was also the top scorer in ODI’s in 2009, along with Australian player, Ricky Ponting.
• In 2012, India played a three-match ODI with Pakistan, where Dhoni top scored for the entire three innings. Though India had lost the series, his performance and partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin were appreciated.
• Winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013, Dhoni became the only captain in International Cricket to receive all ICC trophies. Even though he only managed to score 27 runs from two innings, his strategies and field placements played an important role in the victory of India. The International Cricket Council (ICC) named him as wicketkeeper and captain of the ‘Team of the Tournament.
• Following the victory of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy, India played a tri-nation cricket tournament against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Dhoni got injured and was unable to play in the initial matches. But, in the final match against Sri Lanka, he led India to victory. Scoring 52 runs from 45 balls, he was selected as the ‘Man of the Match. Thus, MS Dhoni became the second cricketer in India, after Sachin Tendulkar, to score 1000 or more ODI runs against Australia, in November 2013.
• Dhoni became the first captain of the Indian team to win all group-stage matches during the 2015 World Cup in New Zealand. He made a partnership of 186 runs along with Suresh Raina and thus became the highest-scoring Indian captain in New Zealand. Following the defeat of Bangladesh by India, he became the third captain of any cricket team to win 100 ODI matches and the first non-Australian captain to achieve that success. In the 2015 World Cup, he achieved a score of 237 runs in 6 innings with an average of 59.5. He became the second Indian captain to score an average of over 50.

Test Matches

• Dhoni scored his first half-century in a test match against Sri Lanka. However, Dhoni scored his maiden century against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2006. He demonstrated an aggressive batting style that made it possible to achieve the century in 93 balls. Dhoni’s wicket-keeping skills got improved during the test series against West Indies in 2006. He managed 13 catches and 4 stumpings from the entire series. Dhoni led the Indian team to victory in the Sri Lankan tour in 2009 by scoring two centuries. The Indian team ascended to the first position in the Test Cricket rankings for the first time in history.
• Dhoni played the last test series of his career in 2014-2015 against Australia. Under his captaincy, India lost the first and second tests. Following that, Dhoni announced his retirement in the third test match. He finished his last test match with nine dismissals and a record of maximum stumpings. Thus, he became the first wicketkeeper of the Indian cricket team to have maximum dismissals. But, the record was broken by Wriddhiman Saha in 2018. He ended his last innings with 24 runs.

Twenty20

• Dhoni led the Indian team for the first T-20 World match in 2007. On 24th September, under his captainship India won the ICC T-20 World Cup trophy in South Africa, beating Pakistan. After the iconic victory of the Indian team under Kapil Dev in 1983, Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the second captain of the Indian cricket team to have won any form of World Cup. Dhoni was given the title of wicketkeeper and captain of the ‘Team of the Tournament for the 2014 T20 World Cup by the International Cricket Council.
• Dhoni retired from International cricket on August 15, Independence day of 2020.

Indian Premier League

• Dhoni became a part of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the most expensive player of the season during the auctions. He was given a copious amount of US$1.5 million. Under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings gave a laudable performance in the Indian Premier League, bagging the title for 2010,2011,2018, and 2021. Chennai Super Kings also won the Champions League T-20 title in 2010 and 2014. In total, he played 200 T-20 matches for Chennai Super Kings.
• Dhoni is one of the players with a record of playing the maximum number of IPL matches. He also played as a batsman and wicket-keeper under the captaincy of Steve Smith. After returning to the captaincy in 2018, he continued till 2022. Dhoni stepped down from the post of captain on 24th March 2022 and handed over it to Ravindra Jadeja.

Personal Life

• On 4th July 2010, he got married to Sakshi Singh Rawat. The couple has a daughter named Ziva.
• Dhoni is the Vice-President of India Cements Ltd, owned by N.Srinivasan, the former Vice President of BCCI and owner of Chennai Super Kings.
• He is a co-owner of the Indian Conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar, Ranchi Rays, a hockey club based in Ranchi, and Chennaiyin FC, a Chennai-based football club, which is a franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL).
• Dhoni owns a lifestyle brand called “SEVEN”, and he is the brand ambassador of the same.

Association with Territorial Army

• He was awarded the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army(ITA) in 2011, for his contribution to the nation as a cricket player. At the Agra Training Camp, he completed five parachute training jumps from the aircraft of the Indian Army and became a qualified paratrooper in 2015.

Awards and Honours

• MS Dhoni received Padma Bhushan, the third highest Civilian honour in India, in 2018.
• In the year of 2009, he received the fourth-highest civilian award in India, Padma Shri.
• He received the highest sporting honour in the country, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, in 2007-2008.
• In 2008 and 2009, he was selected as the ODI player of the year.
• He was chosen the Castrol Indian cricketer of the year in 2011.
• Dhoni’s life story was made into a film, ‘M.S.Dhoni: The Untold Story’ in 2016.
• Throughout his career, Dhoni received praise for his ability to handle pressure during tough matches,wicket-keeping skills, immediate decision-making skills, batting skills, patriotism, etc.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mahendra Singh Dhoni

When did MS Dhoni join the Indian team?

MS Dhoni joined India- A Team for the first time for the 2003-2004 season for a Zimbabwe-Kenya tour. This was immediately after his performance in Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy for the Jharkhand team.

MS Dhoni has won, how many Cups during his career as the Captain of the Indian team?

MS Dhoni is the only captain in International cricket to have won all three major trophies of the International Cricket Council (ICC). India became the title winners of the ICC World T20 in 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.

What were the roles of Dhoni in the Indian Cricket team?

MS Dhoni played the roles of a right-handed batsman, wicketkeeper, and captain in the Indian cricket team. He remained consistent and focused, contributing equally to the responsibilities he had in the team.

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