Legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batter and former captain MS Dhoni turned 42 on Friday. The Indian cricket fraternity took to social media to extend their wishes to the iconic cricketer.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wished Dhoni via Twitter. “Captain. Leader. Legend! Wishing @msdhoni- former #TeamIndia Captain & one of the finest to have ever graced the game – a very happy birthday Here’s a birthday treat for all the fans – seconds of vintage MSD….,” tweeted BCCI.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah also wished Dhoni on his birthday, saying that his charisma, leadership and extraordinary skills continue to inspire millions around the globe.
“Happy Birthday to the most successful captain of Team India, @msdhoni! Your charisma, leadership, and extraordinary skills continue to inspire millions around the globe. Thank you for your unparalleled contributions to Indian cricket. @BCCI,” tweeted Shah.
Dhoni’s Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings, with who he has won five IPL titles, also extended wishes to their ‘Thala’, which means ‘Head’ or ‘Leader’ in Tamil.
“The clock strikes 12 as we step into THALA’s birthday in style! BRING ON THE BIRTHDAY WHISTLES! #CelebratingThala #WhistlePodu #Yellove @msdhoni,” tweeted CSK.
Mumbai Indians, the five-time IPL champions and CSK’s arch-rivals also wished Dhoni a very happy birthday.
“From Mahi maar raha hai to Dhoni finishes off in style… pure entertainment! Happy Birthday, MSD #OneFamily@msdhoni
@ICC,” tweeted MI.
Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who has filled Dhoni’s shoes like no other with his massive hits and athletic keeping, also cut a cake on his birthday by himself. He took to Instagram to share the picture.
Opener KL Rahul also posted an Instagram story wishing Dhoni, “an inspiration”, a very happy birthday.
Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag also wished Dhoni a very happy birthday in style.
“The Sun God has 7 horses to pull his heavenly chariot. In the Rigveda there are 7 parts of the world, 7 seasons & 7 fortresses 7 basic musical notes 7 pheras in a marriage 7 wonders of the world And on 7th day of 7th month- the Birthday of a top man @msdhoni, #HappyBirthdayDhoni,” said Sehwag in his Twitter post.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya also wished his “favourite” Dhoni by sharing a picture of them both.
“Happy birthday my favourite @msdhoni,” tweeted Pandya.
Pacer Mohammed Shami also wished Dhoni on his birthday, wishing that god showers him with endless blessings.
“May God continue to shower you with endless blessings. Happy birthday. Happy birthday @msdhoni
bhai #mdshami11 #mdshami #birthday #birthdaycake,” tweeted Shami.
Coming to his long format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests.
As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India’s most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series.
Dhoni’s strongest format was the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India’s fifth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). He is also the 11th most successful ODI batter of all time. The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more astonishing.
He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five matches were tied while 11 failed to produce a result, he has a win percentage of 55.
With 229 sixes, he is the fifth-highest six-hitter of all time and also has the second-highest sixes by an Indian next to Rohit Sharma (275 sixes). He is also the sixth-fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs, doing so in 273 innings.
‘Mahi’, as he is known to the fans, played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56.
He led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94.
With the bat, he is the fifth-highest run-getter for India across all formats. In 538 matches, he scored 17,266 runs at an average of 44.96 and a strike rate of over 79. He has scored 16 centuries and 108 fifties across all formats, with the best score of 224.
He has led a team in most matches as a captain in the sport’s history. He has led India in 332 matches across all formats, out of which he has won 178, lost 120, six were tied and 15 ended in a draw. His win percentage is 53.61.
Coming to wicketkeeping, he has the third-highest number of dismissals, with a total of 829, behind Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (905) and South Africa’s Mark Boucher (998). With 634 catches, he has the third-highest number of catches in international cricket history. His great reflexes also earned him a total of 195 stumpings, the highest by a keeper in cricket history.
Besides guiding India to ICC titles, he has also guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to franchise glory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League T20. He has led CSK to five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Dhoni has also led CSK to two CLT20 titles in 2010 and 2014. With this, he is not only the most successful captain in franchise cricket as well, but cricket in general.
Dhoni has played 250 IPL matches, mostly for CSK, other than a stint with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 to 2017. In these matches, he has scored 5,082 runs at an average of 38.79. He has also scored 24 half-centuries in the tournament. He also has 142 catches and 42 stumpings.
With these astonishing statistics as a middle-order batter and his success as a captain, it is unlikely that India and world cricket, in general, will witness a phenomenon like ‘Captain Cool’ again. (ANI)
