Former India captain MS Dhoni turns 40
No Indian can forget Ravi Shastri’s words from the commentary box – “Dhoni ends up in style. A brilliant strike into the crowd! India won the World Cup after 28 years!”
That World Cup winning moment, which is still fresh in every fan’s mind, was absolutely spectacular. Dhoni’s unbeaten 91 was a major reason behind India’s victory in the 2011 World Cup. Hunting down a challenging 275-run target, he propelled India past the finishing line at the Wankhede, ensuring there were no late plays in the summit clash.
The Indian dressing room erupted with joy and Dhoni sent Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to send the ball into the stands. Dhoni not only gave a lifetime memory to millions of Indians, but also transformed himself into a formidable “finisher” who had snow in his veins.
India’s “beloved” captain Dhoni is still a favorite of fans of all age groups in today’s times. “Captain Cool”, who has won all the major accolades cricket can achieve during his game, is celebrating his 40th birthday today, 7 July.
In a cricket-crazy country like India where the game is no less than a religion, Dhoni’s name tops the list of most successful captains. The country had already seen the talent of Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly, but the emergence of Dhoni as a leader helped the Indian team become a dominant force in world cricket.
Dhoni may not have got a proper farewell but his efficient career made him India’s most decorated captain. Dhoni’s captaincy saga began in 2007 when he led a young Indian to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa.
After this Dhoni did not look back. Often described as a man with a Midas touch, the wicketkeeper-batsman eventually went on to become one of the most decorated captains of Indian cricket. He not only inspired the youngsters with his on-field behaviour, but also conducted the game with his captaincy moves, batting wit and gloves. Dhoni remains the only wicketkeeper in the world to have 100 or more stumpings in One Day Internationals.
Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the game to have won three ICC trophies – T20 World Cup (2007), ODI World Cup (2011) and Champions Trophy (2013). It was under Dhoni’s leadership that India rose to the number one position in both the Test and ODI formats of the game.
Under Dhoni’s leadership, India won 41 Test matches out of 72, 110 out of 200 ODIs and 27 out of 60 T20I matches. On the batting front, he scored 17,226 runs in his international career spanning from 2004 to 2019.
IPL The record of ‘Chinna Thala’ is also excellent. Under Dhoni’s captaincy, CSK have won three IPL titles in 2010 and 2014 as well as the Champions Trophy. Dhoni, now a Chepauk darling, has played for the Chennai-based out in every season, except for two seasons. Suffrage was banned.
India’s semi-final exit in the 2019 World Cup, heart-wrenching against New Zealand, was Dhoni’s last appearance in the blue jersey. While his fans were eagerly waiting to see him in the India jersey once again, Dhoni took the wraps off an illustrious international career almost a year ago. He announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on 15 August 2020.
However, Dhoni has not considered retiring from franchise cricket yet. He will be seen in action when CSK fight for another title this year in the remaining matches of IPL 2021. Amidst the growing calls on Dhoni’s ability to perform with the bat, all we can say is – “Enjoy it while it lasts”.
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