India is a powerhouse of cricket. In India, people consider cricket as their religion. This is the reason that the country has given so many legendary players to the game. The world has seen many legendary cricketers from India including but not limited to Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni. Today, it’s a birthday of India’s most loving cricketer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Exactly 39 years ago, the legendary wicket-keeper batsman was born in Ranchi. MS Dhoni made a debut in international cricket very late as compared to the other young cricketers but he made a huge impact in the early stage of his career. The world has seen several changes in Dhoni’s game in his 15+ years long career but his value in the team never decline. Since 2004, he is one of the most valuable players in Indian cricket. In terms of brand value, Dhoni is the most valuable player in cricket history along with the great Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain is one of the cricketers who comes only once in a generation. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most admired Indian cricketers across the globe. The fan following of MS Dhoni is very big and that’s because of his priceless services to the Indian cricket in the 15+ years long career.
Today is July 7, which is Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s birthdate. Every cricket fan knows that seven is MS Dhoni’s T-shirt number. He is also known as the King of number 7. Seven is a very lucky number for the World Cup-winning captain. Dhoni owned a fitness & active lifestyle brand named as SEVEN. There are seven major traits in MS Dhoni which have made him a special player like the seven colours in the rainbow make the rainbow arc beautiful and special. This article is about the SEVEN attributes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which made the former Indian captain a legendary cricketer.
#1. Dhoni the Revolutionary
There was a time, when 90% of players in the Indian team were from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. Now, only a few players are from the metro cities. In the current Indian team, most of the players are from small towns of India. The man behind this massive change is Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The Ranchi born cricketer's entry in the national team changed everything. Dhoni motivated many young cricketers from small towns to play for India. It is fair to say that MS Dhoni played a major role in Indian cricket's revolutionization.
#2. Dhoni the Batsman
There are very few cricketers who have made their impact very early in international cricket and MS Dhoni is one of them. The Ranchi born cricketer made his debut in the international cricket in December 2004 and made an early influence with his destructive batting. Dhoni’s batting technique was not so good but his style playing was very different and impactful. In just first 42 innings, Dhoni became No.1 batsman in the ICC ODI rankings. This record is still unbreakable. Dhoni has started his career as a top-order batsman but after 2006 he started playing as a finisher for the team. Over the years, he made many changes in his batting style. He is widely regarded as the best finisher in the history of the game. The former Indian captain is the only lower-middle order batsman in the history of the game who has scored 10,000+ runs in ODI cricket. The wicket-keeper batsman has won many matches for the country by his smart and destructive batting.
#3. Dhoni the Captain
Captaincy is the most famous aspect of MS Dhoni's game for which people admired him all over the world. He captained the Indian cricket team almost for a decade and considered as one of the best captains in the history of cricket. MS Dhoni is the only captain in the world, who has won three major (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy) ICC tournaments. He has also won two Asia Cups, one CB series and many other series. Under his leadership, India had become No.1 in the ICC Test rankings for the first time. He had won the 2011 World Cup with an experienced team while the Champions Trophy 2013 with an inexperienced team.
In the last few years, most of the cricket teams like – Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and South Africa struggled with their transition but India did not face any problems with the transition. MS Dhoni's terrific leadership is the reason behind India’s perfect transition. He gave chances to the talented youngsters like – Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, etc. at the right time, when some star seniors players like – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir were not delivering good performances. Today, India is one of the best teams in the world in fielding. This was happened because of some hard calls by Mahendra Singh Dhoni which helped the Indian team very much in fielding. Many people believe that Dhoni is a born leader. MS Dhoni's powerful cricketing brain and his leadership qualities made him one of the best captains in cricket history.
#4. Dhoni the Wicket-Keeper
Before 2004, the Indian team did not have any promising wicket-keeper. After Syed Kirmani’s retirement from the International cricket, India tried 9-10 wicket-keepers. Dhoni’s arrival in the Indian team ended India’s search for the promising wicket-keeper. The world cup-winning captain is known as one of the best wicket-keepers in the history of cricket. Dhoni’s wicket-keeping style was not like the professional wicket-keepers but he made various wicket-keeping records with his own style. MS Dhoni is very popular for his lightning-quick stumpings and unusual ways to get the batsman run-out. He has the record of most stumpings in international cricket. After Mark Boucher and Adam Gilchrist, he has the most dismissals as a wicket-keeper in international cricket. Not only with batting or captaincy, but Dhoni has also won many matches for India with his wicket-keeping.
#5. Dhoni the Man of Big Stage
In every sport, a player is analyzed on the basis of stats and how many tournaments or trophies he has won. In cricket, MS Dhoni is the only captain to won all the major ICC trophies. He has won multiple tournaments for India as captain which includes T20 World Cup, Commonwealth Series in Australia, 2 Asia Cups, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy, and many Tri-series tournaments. His captaincy record in the World Cups is very impressive. The former Indian skipper has also won three IPL titles and two Champions League titles for the Chennai Super Kings. In the IPL, under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings has qualified for the playoffs in every season. In the IPL, he is the only player to won 100 matches as a captain. It is very hard for any player to break Dhoni's captaincy records.
#6. Dhoni the Contributor
In these 88 years of Indian cricket, many players have given their contribution. MS Dhoni is one of the cricketers who have a very big contribution to Indian cricket. Everybody knows about his contributions as a batsman, captain and wicket-keeper to the Indian cricket but very few people understand some unknown or productive contributions made by him. Some of which are – A) Left captaincy at the right time so that Virat Kohli get enough time to build his team for the 2019 World Cup. B) Helped Kohli and team management during several important series or tournaments. C) Groomed many youngsters like - Kuldeep, Chahal, Chahar, etc.
#7. Dhoni the Ambassador
The Captain cool is a true ambassador of the game. Today, cricket is one of the most popular games in the world and that’s because of some legendary players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In the last 15 years, Dhoni attracted everyone with his game. The Indian Premier League which is the most popular cricket league in the world has become famous because of some star players like MS Dhoni. The former Indian captain, who plays for Chennai based franchise in the IPL is known as the all-time best player of the league. He has won many trophies for the Chennai Super Kings. The bond between Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni is very strong. The faith between captain cool and CSK is very famous. MS Dhoni is one of the most valuable & popular players in the IPL.
Currently, Dhoni is not in the Indian team. Since India’s exit in the 2019 World Cup, Dhoni is unavailable for the selection in the national team. Most of the cricket fans want to see him in the Blues again while some always debate about his retirement. No one knows what Dhoni want to do in the future. Whatever decision captain cool will take about his future, I think people should respect that decision. MS Dhoni has taken the Indian cricket into greater heights. It is very hard to find another MS Dhoni. India can get another Sachin or Kohli but it is very tough to find a player which have good batting & keeping skills and also extraordinary captaincy skills.
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