Hyderabad: Born on July 7 in 1981, Mahendra Singh Dhoni's arrival in Indian cricket and his subsequent rise has been a story of unprecedented success, punctuated by the occasional blip. Of all the players of the present generation, it was Dhoni who symbolized the new India well. Aggressive without being brash, successful without being arrogant, and seemingly possessing a Midas touch, Dhoni was the perfect blend of a role-model and pin-up star.
However, Dhoni's 16-year-old international career came to end on August 15, 2020, as he announced retirement from international cricket
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the top prize in all formats: the No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007.
Not many had heard the name of MS Dhoni until he was 23 when he blasted two centuries in a triangular 50-over tournament for India A in Nairobi in 2004.
India at that time were looking for a wicketkeeper-batsman who could also act as a dasher. An Adam Gilchrist-inspired Dhoni was drafted in 2004 to solve India's wicketkeeper-batsman crisis after the completion of the Rahul Dravid experiment.
His start was anything but legendary - getting out for a duck. It was his fifth outing at home against Pakistan in 2005, where he stroked a blistering 148, making everyone sit up and take notice. Ganguly sacrificed his batting position at number 3 to hand Dhoni a chance to show his potential which the Jharkhand-born grabbed with both hands. A mammoth 183 to chase a high Sri Lankan total later in the year reiterated his value. By the end of 2005, Dhoni donned the all-whites to earn a Test cap against Sri Lanka.
Along the way Dhoni showed leadership skills. With a mature head on his shoulders and an astute and shrewd cricketing mind, Dhoni was recommended by senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid for captaincy for the T20 team following the senior players opting out of the new tournament.
On his first assignment in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, Dhoni and his team full of youngsters romped to the title in a shock victory bringing about the T20 revolution in India. Dhoni's calm and composed leadership was widely lauded in the cricketing fraternity after India brought the trophy home, earning him the label of ‘Captain Cool’.
He then became the ODI captain after Rahul Dravid relinquished the post, and eventually, ascended to the full-time Test captaincy once Anil Kumble retired.
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India posted successful Test series victories home (England 2008) and away against New Zealand (2009) and Sri Lanka (2009). Throughout his first five years as a Test player, India had lost only two away series, a record which helped them top the Test rankings.
The biggest accomplishment of his career came in 2011 when he powered Team India to a remarkable World Cup victory with his extraordinary leadership skills. It was after 28 long years that India won the Cup, He played a captain's innings in the final against Sri Lanka, where his brilliant unbeaten knock of 91 not out sealed the most memorable victory for his team and country.
The Indian team continued their dominance by winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 making him the only skipper to hold all the major ICC trophies - the T20 World Cup, the 50-over World Cup and the Champions Trophy.
The Ranchi born-cricketer Dhoni also led India to the finals of the 2014 T20 WC in Bangladesh, in which India lost to Sri Lanka while also leading the Men in Blue to the 2015 World Cup semifinal, where they lost against Australia, effectively ending India's 11 match winning streak in World Cups.
On 30th December 2014, having saved the third Test for India against Australia at the MCG, Dhoni announced his retirement from Tests with immediate effect citing too much strain as a captain as the reason, handing over the mantle to Virat Kohli.
Mahi as he is fondly known continued to lead India in the shorter formats.
However, three years later on 4th January 2017 Dhoni stepped down as the captain of the Indian ODI and T20I team handing over the reigns to Kohli, bringing about the end of an era in Indian cricket.
Dhoni was last seen donning the Indian jersey during India’s semi-final exit against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup last year. Since then, he made himself unavailable for the national team selection despite not announcing retirement. He was expected to get back to full swing for the 2020 Indian Premier League but coronavirus has put all the sporting activities on halt which also delayed MS Dhoni’s return to the game.
Hopefully, we can see 39-year-old Dhoni coming back to competitive cricket once the IPL resumes post the COVID-19 halt.
