MS Dhoni has turned 39 and now that he is retired – we present 39 amazing facts about MS Dhoni you may not know about
Whether you are an MS Dhoni fan or not, you must admit that he is the most successful Indian captain of all time
He also proved that with the right amount of exposure, cricketers from small towns made it to the top of the mountain
India’s most successful cricket captain, MS Dhoni had always been the savior for the team in crisis
Yes, he took some time to become the MSD we know today, but when it happened, its Team India that got benefitted
I can carry on with this praise, but as we are here for MS Dhoni, let us immediately get into those.
39 Amazing MS Dhoni Facts You Need To Know
1) Dhoni worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner in his initial days
Dhoni made his Ranji debut for Bihar in the 1999-2000 season but didn’t play long over there
He joined as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station under South Eastern Railway
Dhoni served as a TTE over there from 2001 to 2003 before finally deciding to quit the job to pursue his dreams
2) When ‘Captain Cool’ met the ‘God of Cricket’ for the 1st time
MS Dhoni first met Sachin Tendulkar during a Duleep match in Trophy 2001-02, played in Pune.
Dhoni was not playing in the match and went to serve drinks for the East Zone players during a drinks break.
While on the field, Sachin asked if he could get it or not and Dhoni gladly served drinks to him
This was the first interaction that he had with the ‘God of Cricket’
3) When Akash Chopra insisted Dhoni to cut-off his long hair
Aakash Chopra once shared a story about Dhoni about their India A tour against Zimbabwe and Kenya in 2004
Aakash suggested him to cut his long-hair if he wishes to play for India’s senior team for a longer period
But in reply, MS told that even Prime Minister General Musharraf had asked him never to cut his hair short
So, he will not cut his hair short and wish youngsters to follow this trend and start growing their hair
4) MS Dhoni: The perfect team man
On the same Zimbabwe and Kenya tour, Dhoni was the backup wicket-keeper to Dinesh Karthik.
So, one day Akash saw that Dhoni is helping Karthik with throw-downs in the nets
After a while, Akash made him understand that Karthik is his competition, but it did not affect him
He replied that he wants just to enjoy the moment and bowl, anyone if it benefits the team
5) It was Sourav Ganguly who opted for Dhoni over other senior wicket-keepers
Sourav in his autobiography ‘A Century is Not Enough’ mentions that he was impressed with Dhoni
More than his keeping, his power-hitting in the nets during Challenger Trophy impressed him the most
So, during a phone call with the selection panel, he decided Dhoni over other senior wicket-keepers
6) MS Dhoni was run out at zero in his first match
MSD had an abysmal start to his career as he got out to zero in his first match in Chittagong
India had to accelerate the scores, and he chipped in the ball for a quick single to get off strike
But the Bangladesh side was young with right fielders, and as a result, he got run out by Khaled Masud
7) Ganguly’s decision changed Dhoni’s life
Ganguly always had an eye for recognizing talent, and he knew Dhoni was not getting chances at No.7.
So, at Vizag, against Pakistan, he promoted Dhoni to No.3 position where he got his maiden century
Dhoni scored 148 runs in the match and broke the record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper
This match-winning inning changed his career and its this inning from which his career took-off
8) Dhoni’s cricketing inspirations were Adam Gilchrist and Sachin Tendulkar
Dhoni’s all-time favorite cricketer was Sachin and was inspired by Gilchrist to pursue wicket-keeping
When Dhoni was young, he used to tell his parents to wake him up only when Sachin was batting
In an interview with Dean Jones after the toss, MS revealed Gilchrist was his idol while growing up
9) Dhoni’s friend Santosh Lal taught him to play the ‘Helicopter Shot.’
Dhoni’s signature shot, the ‘Helicopter Shot’ made him very popular among the cricket fans
But he didn’t invent that shot, and that credit goes to Dhoni’s friend and Ranji teammate Santosh Lal
In Dhoni’s biopic, it is revealed that Mahi’s friend, Santosh Lal taught him to play this problematic looking shot
Santosh passed away in July 2013 while batting with acute pancreatitis, and Dhoni helped him get better treatment
10) MS Dhoni blasted his career-best ODI score of 183 in Jaipur
Dhoni, in the 3rd ODI of the 7-match series against Sri Lanka (2005), was promoted to bat at No.3.
He didn’t disappoint and proved his worth scoring a thunderous 183 not out against Sri Lanka
That score of 183 not out (15 fours, ten sixes) is the highest score by any wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs
11) Dhoni is the fastest to reach No. 1 of ICC ODI Rankings
Dhoni due to his excellent performances became the fastest batsmen to reach No.1 of ICC ODI rankings
He took only 42 ODI innings to reach this milestone and overtook Ricky Ponting in the due process
Dhoni’s reign at the top lasted for just one week as Adam Gilchrist replaced him at the top
12) Sachin Tendulkar suggested MS Dhoni’s name as captain in 2007
India performed miserably in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and Rahul Dravid gave up captaincy
Dravid suggested Sachin’s name as India’s next captain and asked Sharad Pawar to talk with him on this issue
But Sachin was not eager to take that responsibility and instead suggested Dhoni’s name for captaincy
Dhoni was made the Captain for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007 which India managed to win
13) When MS Dhoni had his Sourav Ganguly moment in Johannesburg
After winning the ICC World T20, 2007, MS Dhoni took off his shirt and gave it to a young fan.
Five years earlier Sourav Ganguly had taken off his shirt following an Indian victory at Lords
The new Indian Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni went a step further and gave his shirt to a young fan.
14) Commonwealth Bank Series – the series which solidified Dhoni’s position as captain of the Indian team
India managed to win the Commonwealth Bank Series (2007-08) against Australia in Australia under his leadership
He became the 1st Indian wicket-keeper to score over 300 runs in an ODI series
He was the first Asian wicket-keeper to register 20+ dismissals (21) in an ODI series
Critics also came to believe that he is the best man for the job of captaining the Indian side
15) He was the most expensive player in the first edition of IPL
In the 1st edition of IPL, Chennai Super Kings bought MS Dhoni for a record amount of money
They purchased him for US$1.5 million, and he became the most expensive player in that edition of IPL
Today, as we speak now, we just can’t imagine Chennai Super Kings without MS Dhoni
16) 2008 needs to be renamed as the MS Dhoni’s year
It’s not an overstatement as the year 2008 proved to be the watershed moment of Dhoni’s career
This year MS received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and became the ICC ODI Player of the year for the first time
In November 2008, after Kumble’s retirement, Dhoni was appointed as the full-time test captain of India
17) MS Dhoni and his passion for motorcycles
MS is fond of his motorcycles, and this love for two-wheelers goes back when he used to ride a Rajdoot
Over the years, Dhoni’s collection of motorcycles has just increased
It includes Kawasaki Ninja H2, Confederate X132 Hellcat, and many more like Royal Enfield Machismo, Yamaha RD350
18) Dhoni’s made his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 18
Dhoni made his debut for Bihar in the year 1999 at the age of 18
He caught everybody’s attention because of his unconventional style of play and for his ability to hit sixes
MS was also rejected from East Zone because of his style of playing shots in his early days
Dhoni played 131 First-class matches and scored 7038 runs with nine hundred and 47 half-centuriesBig Rock Hosting
19) MS Dhoni and his phenomenal records in IPL
MS is the only cricketer to play in eight IPL finals and as Captain of CSK has won in 2010, 2011 and 2018
He is the only cricketer in IPL to win over 100 matches as captain in the IPL (104 to be precise)
Dhoni has effected most dismissals in IPL history (132 dismissals) with 38 dismissals coming in the form of stumpings
20) MS Dhoni faced criticism for wicket-keeping
MS Dhoni faced criticism for his unorthodox style of wicket-keeping skills in his early days
Especially from former wicket-keeper batsmen Syed Kirmani publicly criticized his wicket-keeping skills
But today, he holds the record of most no. of stumpings (178 ) in international cricket
21) Dhoni’s phenomenal captaincy record
Dhoni is the 3rd captain in the world after Ricky Ponting and Allan Border to win more than 100 ODI matches
He is also the only captain to win all three major ICC trophies –
- 2007 World T20.
- 2011 ODI World Cup.
- 2013 Champions Trophy.
He has captained India in 331 International matches, which is the most by any player in cricket history.
Dhoni was also the first captain to take India to Number One spot in the test matches.
22) An Air India employee
Everyone knows that MS Dhoni was an employee with Indian Railways, but I bet only a few know about this stuff
He was an employee for Air-India and played for Air India in the BCCI Corporate Trophy.
However, Dhoni gave up his Air-India job in 2013, when he became the Vice-President of India cements.
23) Relationship and Marriage with Sakshi Rawat
India’s captain and the hottest bachelor at that time tied the knot with Sakshi on 23rd July 2010 at Dehradun.
Dhoni met Sakshi through a common friend and was in a relationship for two years before getting married
The marriage took place in a farmhouse in Dehradun, and Bipasha Basu confirmed it on social media
24) Dhoni has the record for the fastest ever stumping in the history of cricket
Dhoni has the record of fastest ever stumping, which took only 0.08 seconds.
He stumped West Indies batsman Keemo Paul ff the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja within 0.08 sec.
By doing so, he broke his record of 0.09 seconds, which he held earlier.
25) Dhoni finishes off in style !!
Dhoni has managed to finish matches with a six on nine different occasions
He has also hit most sixes in international cricket as a captain ( 204 sixes )
And yes, he is the only to cricketer to win a world cup for his team with a six.
26) Dhoni also holds the record of most not-outs in the history of ODIs ( 78 not outs )
27) Dhoni is the only player to win the ICC Player of the Year award twice ( 2008, 2009 )
28) It was Suresh Raina who gave Dhoni the news of her daughter Ziva’s birth
Dhoni was the Captain of India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and was at the same time expecting his first child
Dhoni has the habit of not carrying his mobile phone while practicing in the nets
That’s why his wife Sakshi informed about his daughter’s birth to Suresh Raina to tell it to MS Dhoni
So MS came to know about this good news from Suresh Raina
29) Dhoni stopped at 90 tests
Dhoni chose to step down as the Indian Captain in the year 2014 after playing the Boxing Day test match
This came as a shocker as nobody was expecting this kind of sudden announcement
It was during a BBL match that very day when Ricky Ponting broke this news on the commentary table
He scored 4876 in 90 games at an average of 38.09 with six hundred and 33 fifties
30) Dhoni’s list of favorites
Dhoni was a WWE fan in his teenage days and listed Bret’ The Hitman’ Hart and Hulk Hogan as his favorite
He is also a fan of Roger Federer, Amitabh Bachchan, Kishore Kumar, and Lata Mangeshkar
MS was a football fan even before he became a cricketer and also liked playing badminton.
He follows the English Premier League, and he is an avid follower of Manchester United.
31) Dhoni saved Virat Kohli getting dropped in tests
India toured Australia for playing four-match Test series against the Australians in 2011
Kohli was already an established ODI player but was hardly getting any runs in harsh Australian conditions
Rohit Sharma was all set to replace Kohli for the Perth Test, but MS saved him from getting him dropped
The decision paid off as he scored his first century in Adelaide in the last test to justify his skipper’s decision
32) MS Dhoni registered the highest test score by an Indian wicket-keeper
Dhoni scored 224 against Australia in the Chennai Test match in 2013
This was the highest Test score by an Indian wicket-keeper beating Budhi Kunderan’s 192
It is also the 2nd highest score by an Indian captain against any team
33) The second slowest half-century scored by an Indian batsman
Over the years, we are used to seeing MS Dhoni playing aggressively, but in Antigua, in 2017 we saw a different Dhoni
In a crucial match against West Indies, and he scored a knock of 54 off 114 balls against West Indies in Antigua
By doing so, he became the second slowest Indian batsman to get a half-century
34) When MS Dhoni listened to the God of Cricket’s advise
It was Sachin Tendulkar who asked Dhoni to promote himself in the 2011 World Cup final
Dhoni played with Muralidharan in CSK and therefore was well aware of what his tricks
That’s why the God of cricket insisted Dhoni to push himself up the batting order against Sri Lanka
35) When MS picked the best moment of his career
In a recent interview, MS picked ‘Vande Mataram’ chant during the 2011 WC final as the best moment of his career.
In the 2011 World Cup final, when needed only 15-20 runs, all the spectators started chanting ‘Vande Mataram.’
That, along with the massive reception they got after winning 2007 T20 WC was Dhoni’s favorite cricket moment.
36) When Dhoni filed a defamation case on Zee News
During the 2013 IPL, CSK was accused of match-fixing, and Zee News spread the news that Dhoni was involved in it
That’s why MS filed a defamation suit on the Zee News and claimed 100 crores for spreading such news
That’s why the Madras High Court order the Zee team to stop telecasting such news without proper evidence
37) Dhoni cried after hitting the winning runs in the 2011 World Cup
Dhoni just like everyone else in the Indian team cried after winning the World Cup in 2011
The cameras were all busy capturing Harbhajan, Yuvraj who all were in tears after winning the cup
But unfortunately, there were no cameras to capture his emotions
38) MS Dhoni – the passionate sports lover
MSD owns a team named Mahi Racing Team India in the FIM Supersport World Championship
He is also a co-owner of Chennaiyan FC in partnership with Abhishek Bachchan.
MS also owns Rhiti Sports that has managed players like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Faf Du Plessis.
39) MS Dhoni and national recognition
Dhoni was given the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the November of 2011
He also received the Padma Bhushan from the President in the year 2018
Other records
- MS is the only captain who hasn’t lost a series on South African soil.
- He is the Only batsman to Score 4000 runs at No.6 Position In ODIs.
- First and Only Cricketer to Score 5000 runs in T20s as Captain.
- Only Captain to Score a century at No.7 in ODIs