Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a former international cricketer who led the Indian national team from 2007 to 2017 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. He is currently the captain of Chennai super kings (CSK). He has won the triple ICC limited-overs tournament as captain and brought the Indian cricket team to the number one position in ICC test rankings in 2009, Dhoni is often considered as the greatest captain of the Indian cricket team. Further, he had led CSK to win 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021 of IPL, becoming the second most successful IPL captain.
Personal Information
- MS Dhoni’s full name is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He was born on 7th July 1981 in place of Ranchi, Jharkhand. He is also known as Mahi. His present age is 40 years.
- Batting Style- Right-hand batsman
- Bowling Style- Right-arm medium
- Fielding Position- Wicketkeeper
- Playing Role- Wicketkeeper & Batsman
Dhoni was a ticket checker in the South-Eastern railway of Indian railway from 2001 to 2004 in Kharagpur. His village is Lawali in Uttarakhand state. The population of this village is around 20 to 30 families. MS Dhoni’s father Pan Dhoni has left that village in 1970 for employment. After that, he settled in Ranchi. But dhoni’s uncle and his cousin still live in Lawali.
He married Sakshi Singh Rawat,
It was rumored at that time that she was his classmate at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi, and is a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand on July 4, 2010.
Sakshi Singh Rawat was studying hotel management at the time of her marriage and was working as a trainee at Taj Bengal, Kolkata. Sakshi’s father has a tea-growing business, from which he later took retirement and shifted to his native place Dehradun.
Dhoni is a big fan of the Indian Army. He said that since childhood, I wanted to join the army. When he was young, he used to visit the army cantonment to see the soldiers doing their daily routine.
Early Life And Background
He was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand state. He belongs to a Hindu Rajput family. His village is Lavali which is in the Almora district of Uttarakhand. Dhoni’s father’s name is Paan Singh and his mother’s name is Devki Devi. At that time his father was working in junior management positions in MECON. He has two siblings, a sister Jayanti Gupta and an elder brother Narendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni’s mother tongue is Bhojpuri and he also speaks Tamil.
He is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood cricket idol was his former teammate which is Sachin Tendulkar. In Bollywood actor, he is a fan of Amitabh Bachchan and his favorite singer is Lata Mangeshkar.
He had not played cricket, but he was impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club from 1995-98. Based on his performance at club cricket he was selected for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy under 16 championships and he performed well. Dhoni was focused on cricket after his 10th standard.
Early Career
Junior Cricket In Bihar
- Dhoni was selected by Deval Sahai to play for the Central Coal Fields Limited team in 1998. In 1998 Dhoni was in 12th standard in school and till that time Dhoni used to play only school cricket and club cricket and no professional cricket.
- While playing for CCL, he got a chance to bat down the order. He took advantage of this opportunity and scored a century and helped CCL move to the A Division. Deval Sahay was impressed by Dhoni’s hard-hitting shots and dedication towards crickets used his contacts in Bihar cricket Association to push for his selection in the Bihar team. Within 1 year, Dhoni went from playing in the CCL to the Bihar Ranji team for the 1999–2000 seasons.
Bihar Cricket Team
- When Dhoni was eighteen, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season. He scored a half-century in his debut match against the Assam cricket team scoring 68* in the second innings. Dhoni completed the season by scoring 283 runs in 5 matches. In the 2000/01 season, Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century while playing for Bihar against Bengal, but the match ended in a draw. Away from this century, his performance in the 2000/01 season did not include another fifty-plus score and in the 2001/02 season, he scored just five fifties in four Ranji matches.
Jharkhand Cricket Team
In the 2002–03 season, he included three half-centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a few half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy as he began to gain recognition for his lower-order contributions as well as his rigorous batting style.
Dhoni scored a century against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI tournament. He was part of the East Zone team that won the Deodhar Trophy in the 2003–04 season and scored 244 runs in 4 matches, including a century against Central Zone. To represent the East Zone, Dhoni was selected over international cricketer Deep Dasgupta in the Duleep Trophy final.
Awards And Achievements
Received the Padma Bhushan Award from the President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, April 2, 2018.
Sporting Honours
ICC World ODI XI.
ICC ODI Player of the year.
ICC Men’s ODI team of the decade .
Castrol Indian cricketer of the year.
ICC Men’s T20I team of the decade.
ICC Spirit of the Cricket award of the decade.
National Honours
Received Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2007-08. India’s highest honor given for achievement in sports.
In 2009, received India’s fourth-highest civilian award which is Padma Shree.
In 2018, received India’s third highest civilian award which is Padma Bhushan.
Other Awards
Received MTV Youth Icon of the year in 2006.
In 2011, received CNN News18 Indian of the year.
In August 2011 received a Doctorate degree from De Montfort University.
In 2013, received LG People’s Choice Award.
Jharkhand Cricket Association named their stadium south stands after Dhoni in 2019.
Affairs
- Before marrying Sakshi, MS had an affair with many girls. Here is a list of some women:
1. Deepika Padukone
It was in the year 2007 when the news of Deepika Padukone and MS Dhoni’s affair was at its peak. Dhoni had even openly said that he has a huge crush on Deepika. He also requested a special screening of Om Shanti Om and invited them to watch the T20I match against Australia. Dipika accepted the invitation and was seen cheering for him and the team in the stands. The pair became the talk of the town. Although both denied dating each other.
2. Preeti Simoes
The rumors were veritably strong that MS Dhoni was intimately dating the former creative director of Comedy Nights with Kapil.
3. Raai Laxmi
- In 2009, the South Indian actress admitted that she was in a relationship with MS Dhoni and actually called the relationship an ‘effect’ as it only lasted for several months. Still, MS Dhoni has not revealed anything about the relationship.
Domestic Career
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Dhoni scored 70 in the second quarter-final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Jharkhand lost that match in Delhi vs Jharkhand on 23 December 2015.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, a one-day match tournament, Dhoni scored 129 against Chhattisgarh at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata in the year 2017.
In 1999–2000, Dhoni made his debut in first-class and List A cricket. In domestic cricket, Dhoni played for many teams like India A, Air India Blue, Jharkhand, Bihar, East Zone, Rest of India, Chennai Super Kings, etc. Dhoni played for the Air India Airlines Air India team in the BCCI Corporate Trophy. , until his resignation from the company in 2013.
BCCI Corporate Trophy Dhoni scored 106 runs for the Air India Blue team against the India revenue team in 2009. In Chandigarh, he hit 7 sixes and 7 fours in the innings.
International Career
Start Of ODI Career
- In 2004–05, Dhoni made his mark in the India A team, he was selected in the ODI squad for the tour of Bangladesh. Dhoni did not start his ODI career well, he was run out for zero on debut. Dhoni was selected for the Pakistan ODI series despite the average series he played against Bangladesh.
2007 World Cup
- India, unfortunately, crashed out of the World Cup after losing to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage. In the tournament, Dhoni was dismissed for zero in both these matches and scored just 29 runs. When Dhoni was on the loose for Bangladesh in the 2007 Cricket World Cup, JMM political activists ransacked and damaged Dhoni’s house, which was being built in his hometown Ranchi. After that local police were arranged for the safety of his family as India were knocked out of the World Cup in the first round.
Rise Through Ranks
- In the 2009 series between India and Australia, Dhoni played an aggressive inning of 124 runs in just 107 balls in the second ODI, scored 71 runs in 95 balls with Yuvraj Singh, and led India to 6 in the third ODI. Looked into the house from the wicket. On 30 September 2009, Dhoni took his first and only wicket in international cricket. In the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, Dhoni bowled Travis Dowlin of West Indies during a match.
Post 2011 World Cup
Dhoni scored the most runs for India in all three innings, although India lost the three-match ODI series 1-2. Dhoni helped India recover from 29/5 in the first ODI in Chennai to post a total of 227 runs in 50 overs. He shared a record partnership with Ravichandran Ashwin with an unbeaten 113 not out, though due to a loss. Dhoni became the first and only captain in international cricket to win all ICC trophies by winning the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. In November 2013, Dhoni became India’s second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar.
Retirement
- On August 15, 2020, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. MS Dhoni, the former captain of the Indian judging platoon, has made his comeback from international judging, bringing the curtains down on the nearly 16-time long career of one of them. Top limited-overs cricketer of the country. Dhoni retired as India’s most successful captain in limited-overs internationals, having won three ICC glory—the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 50-over World Cup in 2011, and the 2013 ICC Titleholders Jewel—the only captain to do so.
Business Ventures
- Let’s look at the list of Business ventures that MS Dhoni has acquired.
1. Ms Dhoni Works With Sportfit
- Dhoni works with sport fit, in this, he has a large stake in one of India’s leading fitness centres today.
2. Chennaiyin FC
- Along with Bollywood stars Abhishek bachan and vita Dani, Dhoni is also the co owner of defending Indian Super League Champion Chennaiyin FC.
3. Ranchi Rays
Along with Sahara India Parivar, Dhoni is also the co-owner of Ranchi Rays a Jharkhand-based Indian Hockey league franchise created as an alternative to rancho Rhinos.
MS Dhoni supports local vocal desi brands.
After retirement Dhoni had given time to organic farming.
Army
Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni was awarded the honorary rank of a lieutenant colonel with the Indian Territorial Army in 2011.
In 2015, he became a qualified paratrooper after having completed five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp.
- Dhoni will join his battalion, the 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para), in Jammu and Kashmir on July 31, 2019, and carry out duties with the troops. He will be with the troops till August 15 and will be assigned patrolling, guard, and post duty. This was the reason the former Indian captain made himself unavailable for the upcoming West Indies cricket tour.
Controversies
In 2007, despite the severe water crisis in the state, 15000 litres of water was getting wasted for the maintenance of the swimming pool in Dhoni’s house. A few residents of his locality filed a plea against the Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA).
A duty elusion contestation over his Hummer H2 did the rounds, as the vehicle demanded an enrolment charge of ₹ 4 lakhs in India, but, inaptly, it was registered as a Mahindra Scorpio, the charge of enrolment of that vehicle which was ₹ 53,000.
During the 2013 IPL spot-fixing, Dhoni came under the suspicion of the Supreme Court. He was in the contact with Gurunath Meiyappan, who was named in betting charge sheet. On questioning about the connection with Meiyappan, Dhoni called Gurunath Meiyappan, a “mere cricket enthusiast.” However, Meiyappan was a full-fledged team owner.
In April 2016, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was resigned as the brand ambassador of Amrapali real estate group after the firm was trolled on social media by residents of an Amrapali housing project who were angry over the unfinished work. Dhoni sued Amrapali group for over Rs 150 crore dues.
Two years ago, just ahead of the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, Dhoni was accused of holding stakes with Rhiti sports who were managing him, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, and Pragyan Ojha. The company denied the allegations and declared that it did not have any stakes at that particular time.
Former Cricketers were unhappy over Dhoni’s alleged conflict of interest as they all suggested that the captain sell his shares if he had any. Since he was leading the team in all three formats besides leading the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, there were fears that some players would have an unfair advantage regarding team selections.
Top 13 Interesting Facts About Dhoni
During his floundering times as a cricketer, MS Dhoni worked as a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Kharagpur Railway Station under South EasternRailway in Midnapore from the time 2001 to 2003.
Dhoni is a huge addict to motorcars. His garage is filled with luxury as well as quaint buses and bikes. Similar is his love for bikes that he indeed co-owns a motorcycle racing platoon with Telugu film star Akkineni Nagarjuna, called the Mahi Racing platoon. It’s also India’s first World Superbike platoon.
MS Dhoni’s IPL salary in 2021 is Rs. 15 crores, making him one of the highest-paid cricketers in IPL. In 14 seasons of the IPL, Dhoni has made over Rs. 150 crores from his franchise CSK (Chennai Super Kings) and (now debunked) Pune Warriors India.
Dhoni’s has a brand value of over $1.24 billion. He has endorsed countless brands over the years including OPPO, Godaddy, Cars24, Bharat Matrimony, Mastercard India, Snickers India, Zed Black Agarbattis, Dream11, Reebok, Boost, Exide Life Insurance, State of Jharkhand, and more.
Dhoni was ranked 23rd on the Forbes list of The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes in 2015. His earnings that year were $31 million, which included his salary/winnings at $4 million and endorsements worth $27 million.
Nowadays, MS Dhoni lives with his family in his astonishing farmhouse ‘Kailashpati’. The farmhouse covers an area of 7-acres and is situated at Ranchi’s Ring Road. The luxury house includes an enormous lawn, a gymnasium, and even has a swimming pool.
Next up in our list of interesting facts about MS Dhoni are details about his properties. MS owns a luxury home in Dehradun, which he bought in the year 2011. The house is estimated to be worth around Rs. 17.8 crores.
The former captain of the Indian Team has over 33 Million Instagram followers. Reports suggest that he makes about Rs. 88 lakhs per sponsored post on Instagram and around Rs. 1.3 crores for each promotional video.
Dhoni has a biographical film based on his life, titled M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. The movie was released on 30 September 2016 and the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput played the role of Dhoni in the film.
MS Dhoni made an unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur, back in 2005, which is the highest score ever by a wicket-keeper in ODI cricket.
He has completed his schooling in Ranchi. He studied in DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, and went to St. Xaviers College, Ranchi, before dropping out. Dhoni scored 56% in 12th and 66% in 10th standard.
Dhoni was always good at sports. He wanted to be a goalkeeper and played Badminton during his school days, before committing full-time to become a cricketer.
Dhoni charges brands around Rs. 4-6 crore per day for his shoots. He is estimated to earn around Rs. 250 crore from long-term endorsement contracts.
Kajal Ambastha
Writer
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