MS Dhoni at 41: Why Captain Cool will always be special
Former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Photo: AFP
Former Indian cricket team head coach Gary Kirsten once said: “I would go to war with Dhoni by my side”. Together, Dhoni and Kirsten made a team that went on to win many trophies including the 2011 World Cup.
Today, former Indian captain MS Dhoni celebrates his 41st birthday. The star cricketer who made the world acknowledge his cricketing intellect, is regarded as one of the best cricket captains of all time.
On Instagram, Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi shared a post where Dhoni was seen celebrating his birthday with his friends and family.
DHONI TOOK INDIA TO TOP
The Ranchi-born cricketer won three ICC trophies which included the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions trophy. Dhoni also led Indian team to the number one Test rankings in 2009. Under Dhoni, India won Asia Cup two times, in 2010 and 2016. Dhoni also won the ICC Test Championship Mace two times in 2010 and 2011.
A PHENOMENAL CRICKETING RECORD
Dhoni has captained India in 331 matches which includes 60 Tests, 199 ODIs and 72 T20Is. He led the side in the red ball cricket from 2008 to 2014. Here is a record of his captaincy:
• In Test cricket, Dhoni played 60 matches winning 27 and losing 18, and 15 games ending in a draw. His win percentage in Test cricket was 45%.
• In ODIs, Dhoni played 199 games, winning 110 of them and losing 74. His win percentage in ODI was 55.28%.
• In T20I cricket, Dhoni won 41 matches and lost 28. His win percentage was 56.94%.
BUILT A GREAT INDIAN TEAM
When Dhoni took over the ODI captaincy in 2008, the team had stalwarts like VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. But these players were past their prime and the team needed fresh talent. He took the T20 captaincy in 2007, just after the team was knocked out of the ODI World Cup and the morale was low. He took India to T20 World Cup glory.
Dhoni took over the team and worked alongside Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma. Along with Kirsten, he formulated one of the best teams of all tiime.
With Kirsten, Dhoni made sure that the young players got the support even when they were struggling with their performances.
COOL CAPTAIN AND A SMART WICKETKEEPER
Dhoni had a sharp cricketing mind and remained cool and composed even in tense situations. We have hardly seen him lose his temper. For this reason, he was even nicknamed Captain Cool.
When the team lost matches, he was ready to face the questions at the press conferences, but when the team lifted trophies, he let his mates be on the front.
Former Indian team fielding coach R Sridhar once said: “Dhoni, the wicketkeeper is an institution in himself,” Cricketaddictor reported.
Behind the wickets, Dhoni was lightning fast and stumped batters in the blink of an eye. Often he guided his bowlers when he found that they were in trouble.
NOT OVER YET
Though Dhoni has retired from all forms of international cricket, he still continues to represent Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise in the IPL. He has represented CSK as a captain since 2008, barring for 2016 and 2017.
IPL 2023 might be the last time we see Dhoni playing cricket. The crowd of Chennai would be hoping Thala to hang the boots with his held high.