MS Dhoni or ‘The Captain Cool’, his journey from a small-town guy to leading India’s cricket team Internationally has been a commendable journey. He has been the inspiration and also the game changer of the Indian cricket team. Till Dhoni’s arrival in India’s cricket team, the players were mainly from cities, because of the availability of better facilities and infrastructure in cities. Making it difficult for the small-town boys to come over the Ranji Trophy to set their mark on Indian Cricket. MS Dhoni left all the hardships behind proving everything wrong. He gave hope to many to fulfill one’s dream when you have the will and determination to succeed.
From a School Football Player to Indian Cricketer- Early Life of MS Dhoni
A simple boy hailing from Ranchi started playing cricket only after his 10th standard. During his school days, he was more into playing football and badminton. It was his football coach who sent him to play cricket for a local cricket team in Ranchi, where he was noted for his wicket-keeping skill even though he was not trained yet. He was then picked for one of the Under-16 Championship, Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Dhoni belonged to a middle-class family, where he had to take charge of his responsibilities, he started working as Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) in Kharagpur railway station of West Bengal. It was in the year 2003 when Dhoni took his life’s toughest and the wisest decision of quitting his central government job and heading towards his passion of playing cricket. From there it was his passion for cricket and hard work that has made him what he is today. He has been the biggest pride of India’s cricket team, his cricket playing skills are undoubtedly spectacular, and Dhoni’s personality is an add on of being so cool, composed in most difficult situations, and the way he leads his team makes him the best Captain of India’s Cricket team.
Key Highlights of MS Dhoni Journey in India’s Cricket
Let’s revive the flashback of the incredible journey by our Coolest Captain MS Dhoni.
1. MS Dhoni ODI Debut-2004
Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his first international debut in ODI cricket at Chittagong against Bangladesh in 2004/05. Though his start in the One Day International Cricket did not go that well. In spite of the below-average performance in the Bangladesh tour, he was picked for the next Pakistan ODI series.
2. Dhoni record-breaking score as Indian wicket-keeper- 2005
Dhoni in his second ODI series against Pakistan played in Vishakapatnam scored 148 breaking the record of highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper.
3. Dhoni Wins His First Man of the Series- 2005
MS Dhoni was promoted to no. 3 in this series held in Jaipur. The heartbreaking out of Sachin early in the game lend all the pressure on Dhoni to beat the target of 299 scored by Srilanka. Dhoni came out unbeaten scoring 183 out of 145 balls making India win the game. This set up another record of highest Individual run scored in ODI cricket which was later broken by Shane Watson after 7 years. MS Dhoni won the Man of the Series trophy for his outstanding performance in the series.
4. Dhoni Test Match Debut- 2005
MS Dhoni stepped on the first test match against Srilanka in 2005 at Chennai which became a draw match with a score of 30 in the first innings and a catch out to dismiss Avishka Gunawardene.
5. Dhoni Captaincy Begins- 2007
The Captain Cool reign begins with the start of his captaincy for ODI from December 2007. In the same year, he meets the International record set by Adam Gilchrist of maximum dismissal in the ODI series.
6. ICC World Twenty-20 Captain- 2008
MS Dhoni leads the young team of India for ICC World Trophy. He also led India to its first-ever bilateral ODI series victory in Sri Lanka. Dhoni was also awarded the title of ODI player of the year It was the same year when MS Dhoni was awarded the Khel Ratna Award.
7. Full-Time Test Match Captain- 2008
Dhoni took over to be the full-time test match captain for the fourth and final test series against Australia in Nagpur.
8. Dhoni- The Padma Shri Recipient -2009
MS Dhoni was awarded the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri for his commendable contribution towards Indian cricket.
9. India Ranks Top in ICC Test Cricket- 2009
It was the captain cool’s captaincy our Indian team ranked top in the ICC Test Cricket ranking for the first time. Dhoni once again wins the ODI player of the year becoming the first player to win this title twice.
10. Dhoni Leads Chennai Super Kings
Dhoni entered the Indian Premier League with his team Chennai Super Kings that led to three victories under his captainship.
11. Win of the Cricket World Cup
The most remarkable year of India’s history when the Indian Cricket Team brought back the World Cup home after 28 years. It was the year 2011 the Indian Cricket Team captained by the MS Dhoni played the biggest battle of the Cricket World Cup and won the final match against SriLanka. Not to forget his signature helicopter shots making big to win the matches.
11. MS Dhoni Honored By Indian Army
The Indian Territorial Army bestowed the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel to then India’s Captain MS Dhoni.
12. MS Dhoni Win the 3rd ICC Trophy 2013
In the year 2013, Dhoni becomes the first captain leading the Indian Cricket Team to win ICC Trophy for the third time. He also broke the record made by Sourav Ganguly to achieve 21 victories of 49 Test matches. Dhoni also made his first double centuries in a Test match. It was during this time when the Indian team under Dhoni’s captaincy win over Australia for the first time by 4-0 in the Test series.
13. Padma Bhusan Awardee- MS Dhoni 2018
MS Dhoni received the third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhusan as honorary for his contribution towards India.
14. MS Dhoni Announced Retirement- 2020
MS Dhoni announced his retirement from the International cricket, marking the end to an era of the most successful limited-overs captain in the world of cricket.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s commendable contribution not only to India but to the world of cricket will always be remembered and cherished forever. His journey from a common boy to the most celebrated Captain of India’s Cricket Team has been inspiring many lives to chase your passion and live your dreams with dedication and hard work. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us so much to take pride in our nation and India’s Cricket Team.
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