MS Dhoni's journey: From a goalkeeper in school to India's World Cup winning captain

Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned 39 on Tuesday. He is arguably the best captain in the history of both Indian and world cricket. He is the only captain to win all the ICC events (World T20 2007, ICC Test mace in 2009, 2011 World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy). He has all led the Men In Blue to two Asia Cup triumphs in 2010 and 2016 (T20I format) respectively. MS Dhoni had also led the Men In Blue to a tri-series win Down Under against the then mighty Australians in the 2007/08 season. 'Thala' has been leading the Chennai Super Kings since the inception of the IPL in 2008 and has led them to three IPL as well as two CLT20 titles as well. 

The road to glory 

A 'Perfectionist', 'Genius', or a 'Gambler', one can call him whatever they like but he is proved his worth and cemented his place in history books and is also known for his 'Never-say-die' attitude. What makes Dhoni a great batsman is the fact that he has amassed over 10,000 ODI runs especially when he had batted at either number six or seven during most of his career in the 50-overs format. 

Mahi was never a gifted cricketer in the first place. He had played football and badminton during his school days. MSD was a very good goal-keeper and it was his childhood coach Mr. Keshav Banerjee who had asked him to keep wickets after he was impressed by his goal-keeping skills. Dhoni has said that Australia's three-time World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist is his favorite wicket-keeper whereas, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar is his role model when it comes to batting. 

It is unbelievable that the legendary cricketer was employed as a TTE at Kharagpur Railway Station at an age when the domestic players are on the verge of making it to the national side. In fact,  Dhoni did not find a place in India's U-19 World Cup 2000 squad led by Mohammad Kaif where the  Boys In Blue had won their maiden U-19 title. Nonetheless, the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batsman had made the most of the opportunities that came his way. Slowly, but steadily, Mahi started taking baby steps in cricket. He impressed the selectors while playing for India A. Finally, his efforts bore fruits as he was handed his first international cap during an ODI match against Bangladesh in December 2004 which turned out to be a forgettable one as he was run out for a first-ball duck. 

But, this rare failure was his stepping stone to greater heights. His career took off in April 2005  when he had scored a blistering 148 against arch-rivals Pakistan. His unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka later that year to date remains the highest score by a wicket-keeper batsman in ODI history. MS had surpassed  Australia's three-time World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist's previous best score of 172 to achieve the feat. 

Awards & Recognitions

Apart from his achievements in cricket, Dhoni has won plenty of prestigious awards as well. They include the ICC ODI Player of the Year in 2008, and 2009 respectively that made him the first player to win this award twice, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India's fourth-highest civil honors the Padma Shri Award and the Honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel conferred by the Indian Territorial Army.

An eagerly awaited comeback 

The veteran stumper was last seen in action during the heartbreaking World Cup 2019 semi-final loss at the hands of New Zealand on July 10 last year where he had scored a painstaking 72-ball 50 and was involved in a 116-run partnership with star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja after India's early top-order collapse.

However, once Jadeja was caught while trying to match up with the asking rate and MS Dhoni was run out of a sharp throw from Martin Guptill it was curtains down for the Men In Blue as they lost the contest by 18 runs. Dhoni has been on a sabbatical from the game since then.

Meanwhile, Mahi was all set to lead the three-time winners Chennai  Super Kings in IPL 2020 that was originally scheduled to get underway on March 29 but has been suspended indefinitely as of now due to the global pandemic. At the same time, MSD was also going to make his return to competitive cricket. 

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