Mahendra Singh Dhoni (; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional
cricketer
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
who plays as a right-handed
batter and a
wicket-keeper
In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper batsmen and
captains and one of the greatest
ODI batsmen, he represented the
Indian cricket team and was the captain of the side in
limited overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in
test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
from 2008 to 2014. Dhoni has captained the most international matches and is the most successful Indian captain. He has led India to victory in the
2007 ICC World Twenty20
The 2007 ICC World Twenty20 was the inaugural edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that was contested in South Africa from 11 to 24 September 2007. Twelve teams took part in the thirteen-day tournament� ...
, the
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...
, and the
2013 ICC Champions Trophy, being the only captain to win three different limited overs ICC tournaments. He also led the teams that won the
Asia Cup in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
and was a member of the title winning squad in
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
.
Born in
Ranchi, Dhoni made his
first class debut for
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
in 1999. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team on 23 December 2004 in an
ODI against
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
and played his first test a year later against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In 2007, he became the captain of the ODI side before taking over in all formats by 2008. Dhoni retired from test cricket in 2014 but continued playing in limited overs cricket till 2019. He has scored 17,266 runs in
international cricket
International cricket matches are played between the teams representing their nations, administrated by the International Cricket Council. The main forms are Test matches, ODI matches and T20I matches.
Most games are played as part of "tou ...
including 10,000 plus runs at an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
of more than 50 in ODIs.
In the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
(IPL), Dhoni plays for
Chennai Super Kings (CSK), leading them to the final on ten occasions and winning it five times (
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
) jointly sharing this title with
Rohit Sharma . He has also led CSK to two
Champions League T20 titles in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
and
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. Dhoni is among the few batsmen to have scored more than five thousand runs in the IPL, as well as being the first
wicket-keeper
In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
to do so.
In 2008, Dhoni was awarded India's highest sport honour
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
. He received the fourth highest civilian award
Padma Shri
The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
in 2009 and third highest civilian award
Padma Bhushan in 2018. Dhoni holds an
honorary rank of
Lieutenant colonel in the
Parachute Regiment of the
Indian Territorial Army which was presented to him by the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
in 2011. In June 2025, he was inducted into
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fe ...
.
Early life
Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in
Ranchi,
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
(now in
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
) in a
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Rajput
Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...
family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. His parents hailed from Lwali village in
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
(now
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
) and he was the youngest of three children.
His family spells the surname as "Dhauni". The spelling "Dhoni" emerged due to a spelling mistake in his school certificates and, despite repeated attempts by his family, has never been rectified.
Dhoni did his schooling from DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, where he started playing
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
, but later moved to play cricket on the suggestion of his coach Keshav Banerjee. From 2001 to 2003, Dhoni worked as a
Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at
Kharagpur under
South Eastern Railway zone
The South Eastern Railway (abbreviated SER) is one of the 19 Indian Railways, railway zones in India. It is headquartered at Garden Reach, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It comprises Adra railway division, Chakradharpur railway division, Kharagpu ...
of
Indian Railways
Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...
.
Youth career
He played as a
wicket-keeper
In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
for Commando cricket club from 1995 to 1998 and
Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team in 1998. At CCL, he batted higher up the order and helped the team qualify to the higher division. Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season of
Vinoo Mankad Trophy under-16 championship. In the 1998–99, Dhoni played for Bihar U-19 team in the
Cooch Behar Trophy and scored 176 runs in 5 matches. In the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy, the Bihar U-19 cricket team made it to the finals, where Dhoni made 84 in a losing cause. Dhoni's contribution in the tournament included 488 runs in nine matches with five fifties, 17 catches and seven
stumpings. Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the
C. K. Nayudu Trophy in the 1999–2000 season and scored only 97 runs in four matches, as East Zone lost all the matches and finished last in the tournament.
Dhoni made his
Ranji Trophy debut for
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
against
Assam
Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
in the 1999–2000 season, as an eighteen-year-old scoring 68 runs in the second innings. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century while playing for Bihar against
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
in the
2000–01 Ranji Trophy season. Apart from this century, his performance in the 2000/01 season did not include another score over fifty and in the
2001–02 Ranji Trophy season, he scored just five fifties in four Ranji matches. Dhoni played for
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
in the
2002–03 Ranji Trophy and represented
East Zone in the
Deodhar Trophy where he started gaining recognition for his lower-order contribution as well as hard-hitting batting style. In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the
Ranji ODI tournament and was part of the
East Zone squad that won the
Deodhar Trophy, scoring 244 runs in four matches.
In the
Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni represented East Zone and scored a fighting half-century in the second innings in a losing cause. Dhoni was identified as one of the emerging talents via the
BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative
TRDW. In 2004, Dhoni was picked for the
India A squad for a tour of
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
and
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. Against the Zimbabwe XI in
Harare Sports Club, Dhoni contributed seven catches and four stumpings. In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India A and Pakistan A, Dhoni helped India A chase down their target of 223 against Pakistan A with a half-century and scored 362 runs in six innings at an average of 72.40 with back to back centuries.
International career
Debut and early years
The Indian ODI team in the early 2000s saw
Rahul Dravid as the wicket-keeper to ensure that the wicket-keeper spot didn't lack in batting talent and also tried other wicket-keeper/batsmen like
Parthiv Patel and
Dinesh Karthik. With Dhoni performing well for the India A squad, he was picked in the ODI squad for the
Bangladesh tour in December 2004. Dhoni made his debut in the first match of the series and was
run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in cricket, in which the fielding team put down the wicket of a batter who is outside their ground, usually because they are trying to score a run.
Run out is governed by Law 38 of the laws of cricket. If ...
for a
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...
. Dhoni was picked for the subsequent
ODI series against
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. In the second match of the series in
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...
, Dhoni playing in his fifth one-day international, scored 148 runs off 123 deliveries which surpassed the earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper. Dhoni played in the
Sri Lankan bilateral ODI series in October–November 2005 and was promoted to No. 3 in the batting order in the third ODI at
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
where he scored an unbeaten 183 runs off 145 balls, winning the game for India. The innings would surpass his earlier record for the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper and was described in
Wisden Almanack as 'Uninhibited, yet anything but crude'. It was also the highest individual score in ODI cricket in a run chase, a record which was broken seven years later by
Shane Watson. Dhoni ended the series with the highest aggregate of 346 runs and was awarded the
Man of the series.

Dhoni became a regular in the Indian side after the
home series against
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in November 2005.
In December 2005, Dhoni was awarded a "B" grade contract by the BCCI. Dhoni made his test debut in the same month against Sri Lanka during their
tour of India at
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. Dhoni scored 30 runs in his debut match, that was marred by rain and ended in a draw. Dhoni made his maiden half-century in the second test leading to an Indian win. Dhoni played all the matches in the subsequent
tour of Pakistan scoring 219 runs in five ODI matches and 179 runs in five tests including his maiden test century in the second test in
Faisalabad
Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
.
He scored 106 runs across three tests in the
home series against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in March 2006 and 177 runs in five ODI series that followed.
Dhoni dropped multiple catches and missed dismissal chances including a key stumping opportunity of
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977), is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...
which led to criticism of his wicket-keeping.
In the
DLF Cup 2006-07, Dhoni scored 43 runs as the team lost twice in three games and did not qualify for the finals. In the
2006 ICC Champions Trophy
The 2006 ICC Champions Trophy was a One Day International cricket tournament held in India from 7 October to 5 November 2006. It was the fifth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy (previously known as the ICC Knock-out). The tournament venue was ...
, India lost to
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, though Dhoni scored a half-century against West Indies and failed to make it to the knock out stage. In the
ODI series in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in November 2006, Dhoni scored 139 runs in four matches in the series loss.
In the test series that followed, Dhoni scored 114 runs in two tests including a first test victory in South Africa in the first test, but was ruled out of the third test with injury. Dhoni made his
T20 international debut in December 2006 against South Africa at
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
. Dhoni was subsequently named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year, ODI team of the year by the International Cricket Council, ICC for 2006.
2007 World T20 and captaincy
India recorded identical 3–1 victory over West Indian cricket team in India in 2006-07, West Indies and Sri Lankan cricket team in India in 2006-07, Sri Lanka in early 2007 with Dhoni averaging more than 100 in both the series. Subsequently, Dhoni was part of the squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup in which India unexpectedly crashed out in the group stage after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with Dhoni scoring ducks in both these matches and just 29 runs in the tournament.
As a result, Dhoni's house in Ranchi was vandalised and damaged by activists of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, JMM and security was tightened for his family. Dhoni scored 91* against Indian cricket team in Bangladesh in 2007, Bangladesh in the first match of the ODI series in May 2007 which got him the Man of the Match award while also later winning the Man of the Series award after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni played for ACC Asia XI cricket team in the Afro-Asia Cup, scoring 174 runs in three matches at an average of 87 including 139 off 97 balls in the third ODI.
Dhoni was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2007 Future Cup against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent Indian cricket team in England in 2007, seven-match series against England. Dhoni was awarded an 'A' grade contract by BCCI in June 2007. Dhoni was appointed as the captain of the Indian squad for the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20, World Twenty20 in September 2007. Dhoni led India to victory in the tournament after defeating Pakistan in the final. Dhoni was later appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in all formats.
On 2 September 2007, Dhoni equalled Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by effecting six dismissals against England. Dhoni took his first and only wicket in international cricket on 30 September 2009 when he bowled Travis Dowlin of West Indies in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. However, he scored just three runs in the only match he batted with India crashing out of the series in the group stage after the match against Australia was washed out. Dhoni averaged more than 60 in the International cricket in 2008-09, 2008-09 season. Dhoni scored two centuries during Sri Lankan cricket team in India in 2009–10, Sri Lanka's tour of India in November 2009 which India won to achieve the top ranking in ICC test ranking for the first time in its history. Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009, scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings, at an average of 70.43 and topped the ICC ODI batsman rankings for several months. He was named as the captain and wicket-keeper of the ICC ODI Team of the year.
2011 World Cup win and later
Dhoni led the Indian squad for the
2011 Cricket World Cup
The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while the latter hosted World Cup matches for the first time. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the 2 ...
co-hosted by India. India won its second ever ODI world cup after defeating Sri Lanka in the 2011 Cricket World Cup final, final with Dhoni being named man of the match for scoring an unbeaten 91.
In December 2012, Pakistan toured India for a Pakistani cricket team in India in 2012–13, bilateral series for the first time in five years and Dhoni top-scored in all the three matches of the series with a century in the first ODI at Chennai. Dhoni led India to victory in the
2013 ICC Champions Trophy and became the first and the only captain in international cricket to claim all International Cricket Council, ICC limited overs trophies. In the rain-shortened final against England, India won by five runs on Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method, DLS method though Dhoni himself was out for a duck. He was also named as captain and wicketkeeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' by the ICC.

After the Champions Trophy, India toured West Indies for a 2013 West Indies Tri-Series, tri-nation tournament against the hosts and Sri Lanka. Dhoni got injured at the start of the tournament thus ruling him out for most of the tournament. He returned to play the final where he was adjudged Man of the match for scoring 45 runs off 52 balls including 16 runs in the final over (cricket), over to take India to victory by one wicket. In November 2013, Dhoni became the second India batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to aggregate more than thousand runs in ODIs against Australia. India toured Indian cricket team in South Africa in 2013–14, South Africa and Indian cricket team in New Zealand in 2013–14, New Zealand in the 2013–14 season. Though Dhoni scored 84 runs at an average of 48 including one half-century against South Africa and 272 runs with three consecutive 50-plus scores against New Zealand, India lost both the series.
Dhoni himself reached 8000 runs in ODI in the series against New Zealand. Dhoni led India in the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 where India finished as runners-up after losing to Sri Lanka in the final. He was named as captain and wicket-keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' by the ICC.
India won the away ODI series in England in Indian cricket team in England in 2014, 2014 and West Indian cricket team in India in 2014–15, series against West Indies in India where Dhoni scored 146 runs across the five innings he batted.
Test retirement and 2015 World cup
Dhoni played his last series during Indian cricket team in Australia in 2014–15, India's tour of Australia in December 2014. Following the third Test in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Dhoni announced his retirement from the format. In his last test, he effected nine dismissals (eight catches and a stumping), and in the process, went past Kumar Sangakkara's record for most Dismissal (cricket), stumpings in international cricket and also set a record for effecting the most dismissals in a match by an List of India Test wicket-keepers, Indian wicketkeeper until it was broken by Wriddhiman Saha in 2018. In the Carlton Mid Triangular Series in Australia in 2014–15, Carlton Mid triangular series in Australia, India failed to win a single match with Dhoni himself managing just 70 runs from three innings at an average of 23.34.
During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Dhoni became the first Indian captain to win all group stage matches in a world cup. In the match against
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
at Eden Park, Auckland, he made 85 which was the highest score by an Indian captain in New Zealand. After beating Bangladesh in the quarter finals, he became the third overall and the first non-Australian captain to win 100 ODI matches. India lost to eventual champions Australia in the semi-finals with Dhoni having a good series, scoring 237 runs in six innings at an average of 59.25 and a strike rate of 102.15, and thus, becoming the second Indian captain to have an average over 50 and strike rate over 100 in a particular season of the World Cup.
Final years and retirement
Dhoni led India to victory in the 2016 Asia Cup, where India remained unbeaten. Dhoni stepped down as the captain of India in January 2017, ahead of the English cricket team in India in 2016–17, ODI series at home against England. In the second game of the series, he scored 134 off 122 balls, his tenth century in ODIs and his first in over three years. He was named as a wicket-keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in which India finished as runners-up. In August 2017, during the fifth and final ODI Indian cricket team in Sri Lanka in 2017, against Sri Lanka in R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, he became the first wicket-keeper to effect 100 stumpings in ODIs when he stumped Akila Dananjaya off Yuzvendra Chahal. He reached the milestone of effecting 400 dismissals in ODIs in February 2018, following the stumping of Aiden Markram in the third ODI of the Indian cricket team in South Africa in 2017–18, South Africa tour.
Though, he had a relatively mediocre series scoring 79 runs in two innings at a strike rate of 63.20 during India's Indian cricket team in England in 2018, 2018 tour of England, he went past 10,000 ODI runs, becoming the fourth Indian and twelfth overall to do so. In the 2018 Asia Cup title winning campaign, he scored just 77 runs in four innings at an average of 19.25. While captaining in the group stage match against Afghanistan cricket team, Afghanistan due to regular captain
Rohit Sharma being unavailable, Dhoni became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs. Dhoni aggregated 50 runs from three innings in the West Indian cricket team in India in 2018–19, home series against West Indies. In the series, he effected the fastest stumping in the history of cricket, clocked at 0.08 seconds, when dismissing Keemo Paul.
Dhoni was not selected for the T20I squad for the series that followed and the Indian cricket team in Australia in 2018–19, Australia tour later that season. However, he was included in the squad for the ODI series in Australia. In the three-match series, Dhoni scored half-centuries in all three games with the latter two resulting in wins, helping India secure a 2–1 series victory, their first in a bilateral series on Australian soil and was named player of the series while also becoming the fourth Indian to score more than 1,000 ODI runs in Australia. In April 2019, he was named in 2019 Cricket World Cup squads#India, India's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 9 July 2019, Dhoni played in his 350th and final ODI in the semi-final loss against New Zealand national cricket team, New Zealand. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on 15 August 2020 as he had not played any international cricket since India's loss in the 2019 World Cup semi-final.
Domestic career
Dhoni played for Bihar state cricket team since 1999 before representing Jharkhand later. He has also played for Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, East zone and Rest of India cricket team, Rest of India in domestic cricket.
In BCCI Corporate Trophy, BCCI Corporate trophy, he played for Air India until his resignation from the company in 2013. In February 2005, Dhoni played for India seniors in NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, Challenger trophy, where he scored 102 against India B. Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) appointed him captain of the Jharkhand team in February 2017 for the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare Trophy, 2017-18 Vijay Hazare trophy and on 25 February 2017, he scored his first ever domestic list-A century against Chhattisgarh cricket team, Chhattisgarh and led the team to the quarter final where Jharkhand lost against Delhi cricket team, Delhi.
Franchise career

Dhoni was acquired by
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for US$1.5 million during the List of 2008 Indian Premier League auctions and personnel signings, auction for the 2008 Indian Premier League, inaugural season of the
Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
(IPL). He was the most expensive signing in the auction. Dhoni scored 414 runs to lead CSK to the finals in the first season of IPL.
Under his captaincy, CSK won the 2010 Indian Premier League, 2010 edition and qualified for Champions League Twenty20. Chennai won the 2010 Champions League Twenty20, 2010 Champions league. Dhoni scored 392 runs and led CSK to its second consecutive IPL title in
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
.
Dhoni led CSK to its second Champions League Twenty20 title in
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
. Dhoni scored 2987 runs from 129 matches in the IPL across the first eight seasons for the Super Kings.
Following the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, two new franchises Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were established for the 2016 Indian Premier League season. Supergiants picked Dhoni as one of their five List of 2016 Indian Premier League personnel changes, draft picks on 15 December 2015 for .
He scored 574 runs in 30 matches across two seasons for the Supergiants.
Dhoni List of 2018 Indian Premier League personnel changes, returned to CSK for the 2018 Indian Premier League, 2018 season. He scored 455 runs and led his team to its third IPL title. Dhoni led CSK to the title again in
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
and was retained for before the List of 2022 Indian Premier League personnel changes, auction for the 2022 season. Dhoni stepped down from captaincy ahead of that season and Ravindra Jadeja was appointed the new captain. However, a month later, Jadeja handed over the captaincy back to Dhoni in the middle of the season. Dhoni led the franchise to victory again the 2023 Indian Premier League, following season.
Under his captaincy, CSK became the most successful IPL franchise with five title wins and ten final appearances. Dhoni became the first player to play 200 T20 matches for CSK and holds the record for most appearances in the IPL. Ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League, 2024 season, Dhoni handed over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. He marked his 250th appearance for CSK in that season, in a league stage match against Mumbai Indians on 14 April 2024, helping his team secure a 20-run win, following his unbeaten four-ball 20.
Outside cricket
Dhoni holds an
honorary rank of
Lieutenant colonel in the
Parachute Regiment of the
Indian Territorial Army (106 Para TA battalion). The honorary rank was presented to him by the
Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
in 2011 for his service to the nation as a cricketer.
After completing five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp, he became a Paratrooper, qualified paratrooper in 2015. In August 2019, he completed a two-week stint with the Territorial Army in Jammu and Kashmir (state), Jammu and Kashmir. While spending a day with the Parachute Regiment (India), parachute regiment in Ranchi, Dhoni said that he wanted to become a soldier and not a cricketer, "Since childhood I wanted to join the Army. Seeing the soldiers, I thought that one day I'll be the same".
Dhoni holds the post of vice-president in India Cements, India Cements Ltd, the company owned by former BCCI president N. Srinivasan. Dhoni is a co-owner of Chennai-based football club Chennaiyin FC, a franchise of the Indian Super League. He also co-owns Ranchi-based field hockey, hockey club Ranchi Rays, a franchise of the Hockey India League. In February 2016, Dhoni launched lifestyle brand SEVEN (brand), SEVEN which he co-owns while also serving as its brand ambassador. In 2019, Dhoni invested in vehicle re-seller CARS24 and simultaneously became brand ambassador of the company. On 11 October 2022, Dhoni invested in Shaka Harry, a plant-based protein company.
In 2019, Dhoni Entertainment entered into a long-term business agreement with Banijay Group, Banijay Asia to produce content across various genres. The first show developed by the company was a documentary web series titled ''Roar of The Lion (documentary), Roar of The Lion'' for Disney+ Hotstar in 2019 which dealt with the ban of Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League in 2016 and their return to win the title in 2018.
The production house produced a Tamil language romantic drama ''LGM (film), LGM'' which was released on 28 July 2023. Dhoni performed a special cameo appearance in Vijay (actor), Vijay's film ''The Greatest of All Time, G.O.A.T'' that was released on 5 September 2024.
Dhoni is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. He serves as a brand ambassador and endorses more than 35 brands across various segments. , Dhoni has more than 75 million followers on social media platforms and his brand value was projected to be $80.3 million by Kroll Inc., Duff and Phelps. Dhoni's popularity is often compared to Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in international cricket. The No.7 jersey was made popular by Dhoni and was retired by the BCCI in 2023 as a honour to him. Dhoni has developed a special connection with the city of Chennai whose IPL franchise he represents and the fans often call him 'Thala' meaning leader in Tamil.
Playing style

Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and
wicket-keeper
In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
.
Dhoni is an unorthodox batsman who deviates from conventional coaching manuals to showcase his batting technique.
Dhoni displays a proclivity for hitting Full length (bowling), full-length deliveries towards the Fielding (cricket), Long-on, Long off, Long-off, and Midwicket, Midwicket regions, rather than the conventional Cover region.
He plays pull shots and hook shots off Short pitched bowling, short-pitched deliveries often putting pressure on the bowler to adjust their line and length accordingly. Dhoni holds the bat with a firm grip at the bottom of the handle, striking the ball with force and precision to clear the boundary. He is a powerful hitter of the ball and is one of the fastest men in running between the wickets. He plays the helicopter shot technique, taught to him by a fellow player and childhood friend Santosh Lal. As a batsman, he is recognised for his finishing skills in high-pressure situations.
As a wicket-keeper, he has been praised for his fast reflexes behind the Stump (cricket), stumps while also being criticised for the lack of good technique. He is known for his unorthodox captaincy, approachability and has earned a reputation of being a successful leader. Dhoni is also known for his cool-headed demeanor on the field which has earned him the monicker "Captain cool".
Personal life
Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat on 4 July 2010 in Dehradun. Dhoni and his wife have a daughter, Ziva Dhoni who was born on 6 February 2015. He lives in his farmhouse outside Ranchi. Dhoni is an automotive enthusiast and owns a number of bikes and cars in his collection.
Career statistics
Dhoni has scored 4876 runs in Test matches at an average of 38 and 10773 runs at an average of above 50 in ODIs. He has scored 16 centuries and 108 fifties in his international career.
Dhoni has one of the highest averages in ODI cricket. He has scored more than 7400 runs across 390 T20 matches.
He has taken 634 catches and effected 195 stumpings in his international career, making him one of the most prolific wicket-keepers of all time.
Captaincy
In 2007, Dhoni was appointed captain of the Indian national cricket captains, captain of the Indian team and served as the captain of all formats from 2008. He captained the Indian team in 332 matches including 200 ODIs and was one of the most prolific and successful captains of all time.
Records and achievements
;Tests
* Most runs by an Indian wicket-keeper (4876)
* Most number of sixes by an Indian captain (51)
* Most dismissals by an Indian and fifth most by any wicket-keeper (294)
;ODIs
* Most wins by an Indian captain and second most overall (110)
* Second most runs as captain (6641)
* Third most number of matches as captain (200)
* First player to pass 10,000 runs with an average of over 50
* Most not-outs (84)
* Highest score by a wicket-keeper (183Not out, *)
* Highest eighth wicket partnership for India (100Not out, * with Bhuvneshwar Kumar)
* Most dismissals in an innings (6) and career (432) by an Indian wicket-keeper
* Most stumpings by any wicket-keeper (123)
;T20Is
* Second most matches as captain (72)
* Most T20I innings (76) and runs (1,153) before scoring a fifty
* Most stumpings as wicket-keeper (34)
* Most catches as wicket keeper in a T20I innings (5)
;Combined
* Most international matches as captain (332)
* Most stumpings (195) and only wicket-keeper to make 150 stumpings
* Third most dismissals as a wicket-keeper (829)
* Sixth most sixes in career (359)
Honors
India
* T20 World Cup: 2007 ICC World T20, 2007
*
Asia Cup:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2016
2016 was designated as:
* International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
* International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
* Cricket World Cup: 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2011
* ICC Champions Trophy: 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, 2013
Chennai Super Kings
* List of Indian Premier League seasons and results, Indian Premier League:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
,
2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
,
2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
,
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
* Champions League Twenty20, Champions League:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
,
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
Individual
* MTV Youth Icon of the Year: 2006
* ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (captain in 2009, 2011–2014)
* Khel Ratna Award, Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna award: 2008
* ICC Awards, ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2008, 2009
*
Padma Shri
The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
: 2009
* Honorary Lieutenant colonel, Lieutenant Colonel,
Parachute Regiment of the
Indian Territorial Army: 2011
* CNN-News18 Indian of the Year: 2011
* Castrol Awards for Cricketing Excellence, Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year: 2011
* 2013 ICC Awards, ICC People's Choice Award: 2013
*
Padma Bhushan: 2018
*ICC Awards of the Decade, ICC Men's ODI team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper)
*ICC Awards of the Decade, ICC Men's T20I team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper)
*ICC Awards of the Decade, ICC Spirit of the cricket award of the decade: 2011–2020
*
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
The ICC Cricket Hall of Fame recognises "the achievements of the legends of the game from cricket's long and illustrious history". It was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in Dubai on 2 January 2009, in association with the Fe ...
;Others
Dhoni was awarded an honorary doctorate by De Montfort University in 2011. In 2019, Jharkhand Cricket Association named the JSCA International Stadium Complex, JSCA stadium's south stand after Dhoni. In 2023, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) decided to honour him by dedicating seats (J282–J286) at the Wankhede Stadium where he hit the winning shot in 2011 Cricket World Cup final, 2011 World Cup final.
In popular culture
* A film based on Dhoni's life from his childhood to the 2011 world cup win, titled ''M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story'', with Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role was released on 29 September 2016.
* ''The Dhoni Touch: unravelling the enigma that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni'', a book by Bharat Sundaresan.
* Dhoni (film), Dhoni (2012), a Tamil feature film, directed and produced by Prakash Raj where the plot illustrates the conflicting interests of a father and his son with the father wanting his son to study Master of Business Administration, MBA but his son wanting to become a cricketer like Dhoni.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhoni, Mahendra Singh
1981 births
Living people
Kumaoni people
People from Uttarakhand
Sportspeople from Ranchi
Indian A cricketers
Jharkhand cricketers
Cricketers from Jharkhand
Bihar cricketers
Wicket-keepers
India Blue cricketers
India One Day International cricketers
ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers
Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2015 Cricket World Cup
Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup
India Twenty20 International cricketers
East Zone cricketers
India Test cricketers
India Test cricket captains
Chennai Super Kings cricketers
Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports
Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award
Rising Pune Supergiant cricketers
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports
21st-century Indian people