From Ranchi to World Renown: The Incredible Journey of MS Dhoni

Capturing the essence of success ft. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Indian cricketer M.S. Dhoni is well known for having guided his side to its second world cup victory in 2011.He is among the most successful Indian captains and has set several records in his role as a captain.
Notably, with him as captain in 2009, the Indian team rose to the top of the test rankings. While his accomplishments in the IPL format are frequently eclipsed by his international records, he also helped his team, CSK, commonly known as the Chennai Super Kings, win the IPL five times in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, and 2023. He also led the Indian squad to win the 2007 ICC World T-20 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

DEBUT

1). ODI: VS BANGLADESH, 23 DECEMBER, 2004

Due to his exceptional achievements in both domestic and first-class cricket for India-A, M.S. Dhoni was chosen to participate in the national ODI team for the country's 2004–2005 tour to Bangladesh.

Sadly, he was ran out for a duck in his debut match and struggled to find the net throughout the remainder of the series.

2). TEST:VS SRI LANKA,  2 DECEMBER, 2005

He debuted as a test player against Sri Lanka on 2nd December, 2005 and led the team in Test Cricket from 200.

                               CHILDHOOD AND EARLY LIFE

M.S. Dhoni was born into a Rajput family that was originally from Uttrakhand on July 7, 1981, in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand). His father, Pan Singh Dhoni, retired from MECON, a public sector organization that oversees the Ministry of Steel, after serving in a junior managerial role. His mother Devaki Devi is a housewife.

In Ranchi, Jharkhand, he went at the DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir in Shyamali. Initially, he was more interested in football and badminton. He was the goalkeeper of his school football team.

His school coach had, by pure happenstance, once assigned him to relieve the local cricket team's wicketkeeper. His performance won him over to everyone, and he was able to secure a three-year regular berth as the cricket team's wicketkeeper. He was chosen for the U-16 championship in 1997–1998 because of his maintained good performance. He started to take cricket seriously.

                                EARLY CAREER

M.S. Dhoni, who had previously only played cricket at the school and club levels, was chosen to join Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) in 1998. The former vice president of the Bihar Cricket Association, "Deval Sahay," was pleased by his determination. He was left off of the East Zone U-19 squad and the Rest of India squad for the 1998–99 season, however he was picked for the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu Trophy the following season. Regretfully, his performance was subpar and his squad emerged from the tournament at the bottom. In the 1999–2000 season, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for the Bihar Cricket team, scoring 68* in the second innings. In a match against Bengal , he scored his first-ever century in first class cricket, although his side lost. Money was not a luxury for him because he came from an Indian middle-class household. In actuality, he relocated to Midnapore, West Bengal, at the age of 20, having obtained a job as a "Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE)" at the Kharagpur railway station through sports quota. From 2001 to 2003, he worked for the railway company.

The Bihar Cricket Association was unable to notify Dhoni of his selection to play for the East Zone in the "Duleep Trophy" in 2001 because of his whereabouts. When he heard of this, his squad had already arrived in Agartala, where the match was being played. Although one of his buddies was able to rent a car so he could go to the Kolkata Airport for his flight, the car broke down in the middle, so Deep Das Gupta had to take over as wicket keeper. He kept up his strong performance in the Ranji Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy during the 2002–20003 season, which helped him gain attention.  He got another century in the 2003–2004 season while playing for the East Zone squad, who won the Deodhar Trophy. Ultimately, in 2003–2004, he was selected for a trip of Zimbabwe and Kenya with the "India A" group. He had seven catches and was stumped in a game against the Zimbabwe XI. Additionally, he scored two hundreds in the first game and a half century in the second, helping his team thrash Pakistan A in back-to-back victories. 

Captain Sourav Ganguly of the Indian National Team took notice of him after seeing such a performance. Following his superb performance in first class cricket, M.S Dhoni was selected to play in the national ODI team for India's tour of Bangladesh in 2004-2005.Sadly, he was run out for a duck in his maiden match and struggled mightily the remainder of the series. 

Selectors showed confidence in him by choosing him for the Pakistan ODI series after his underwhelming performance in his first series.They weren't let down by Dhoni, who in his fifth ODI encounter struck a record-breaking 148, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper batsman.Dhoni was moved up in the batting order for the third game of the bilateral series between Sri Lanka and India because he did not receive enough opportunities to bat in the first two games. He made the most of the opportunity, racing to a quick 183* off 145 balls as he pursued a 299 target. Throughout the series, he broke a number of records, and his performance earned him the title of Man of the Series.

He continued to score 68*, 72*, and 77 runs without conceding a wicket in four of the five matches in the India-Pakistan ODI series of 2005–2006, which helped his team win the series 4–1. Even though it was only for a week, on April 20, 2006, the dethroned Ricky Pointing to take the top spot in the ICC ODI batting rankings. Before the 2007 cricket world cup, Dhoni performed brilliantly in the two series against Sri Lanka and the West Indies, averaging above 100. He did not, however, do well enough during the world cup, and the Indian team was eliminated from the competition after the group stage. In 2007, he was selected vice captain of the ODI team for two series against South Africa and England. He also led the Indian side to victory over the Pakistani team in the ICC World T-20 Trophy, which was held in South Africa. 

In September 2007, after he captained the Indian ODI side to victory in the T-20 series against Australia, he was handed the task of leading the team. Sachin Tendulkar, a cricket icon and teammate, gave him a lot of credit for leading India to victory in the 2011 world cup.
In 2009, he scored 1198 runs in just 24 innings, matching Ricky Ponting's total for that year in 30 innings. In 2009, he also held the #1 spot for several months in the ICC ODI batting rankings.

He guided India to the World Cup win in 2011. He moved up the batting order in the last game against Sri Lanka and scored a game-winning knock of 91*.

He led India to victory in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, making history as the only captain to win every ICC trophy, including the Test trophy, ODI World Cup, T-20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy.

During the 2005 Sri Lankan test series, MSD was chosen to play at wicketkeeper for the Indian test team.
In his debut game, he scored 30 runs, but the weather stopped him from scoring more.
In the next game, he made his first half-century and helped India win by a large margin.

He made his first test century in an attacking innings that helped India avoid follow-on during their tour of Pakistan in early 2006. The following two matches, one against Pakistan and the other against England, saw him continue to play brilliantly.
After Anil Kumble, the captain at the time, was hurt in the previous game and declared his retirement, Dhoni, who had been vice captain during the series against Australia in 2008, was elevated to full-time test captaincy in the fourth game.

He continued to lead his team to victory under his captaincy in 2009, scoring two hundreds throughout the series against Sri Lanka. In the ICC test rankings, India eventually rose to the top as of December 2009.

During the third match of India's Australia tour in 2014–15, he announced his retirement from test cricket.
He played more One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in the ensuing years, but in January 2017 he announced his retirement from the captaincy of ODIs. He went on to play cricket, but on August 15, 2020, he posted a video on Instagram to announce his retirement from all formats of the game.

                     PERSONAL LIFE & LEGACY

MSD's relationship with Priyanka Jha, a female, was made public in his biopic between 2005 and 2006. It was a passionate, but brief affair because that same year she passed away from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. When Dhoni, who was traveling with Team India at the time, discovered the incidence long later, he was upset on an emotional level. To get his professional career back on track, it took about a year.

A scene from the movie M.S Dhoni :The Untold Story 

After meeting Sakshi Singh Rawat in 2008 at Taj Bengal, where she was working as an intern following her graduation from the Institute of Hotel Management Aurangabad, Dhoni began dating the latter.

One day before to becoming engaged, on July 4, 2010, the couple, who had been dating for two years, tied the knot. On February 6, 2015, the couple gave birth to a daughter called Ziva.

Neeraj Pandey, a film director, decided to write a biography of his life and achievements after winning the 2011 cricket world cup. The film MS Dhoni: The Untold Story was released on September 20, 2016.

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