Revision as of 12:13, 31 December 2014

The authors of this page include…

CricBuzz <>ESPN Cric Info <> ESPN Cric Info

Basic facts

Dhoni played 90 Tests in a career that spanned 2005-2014.

Born July 7, 1981, in Ranchi

Teams that he played for: India, Asia XI, Bihar, Chennai Super Kings, Jharkhand

Place in the teams: As wicketkeeper and batsman

Batted as: Right-hand bat

Bowled as Right-arm medium

Fielded as: Wicketkeeper

Announced retirement from cricket on: 30 Dec 2014 (After India lost the test series to Australia)

Early life

Kaushik Rangarajan, cricbuzz reminds us:

The beginnings were small and humble, as it often is, for Indian cricketers from middle-class backgrounds. Dhoni, having excelled in school and club cricket, moved to Kharagpur, as a 20-year-old, in search of employment. The then-divisional railway manager of South Eastern Railway was in need of a wicket-keeper batsman. 60 balls later, Dhoni was handed a job via Sports Quota. While it was well known in local circles that Dhoni was cut-out for bigger things, he almost, quite literally, missed the flight to a career in international cricket. Having not been informed of his selection in the East Zone side, Dhoni, who was offered a ride to the Kolkata airport, suffered another heartbreak when the car broke down midway thereby allowing Deep Dasgupta to play the Duleep Trophy game the next morning. But success can never be contained, only delayed. He fought his way through the rigors of domestic cricket and won his first Test Cap in 2005 against Sri Lanka in Chennai, a city that would embrace him as their own in later years.

2008-2014: highest no. of matches

Since the start of 2008 - taking into account international matches across formats, IPL and Champions League T20 games - Dhoni has played 398 matches, the most for any cricket during this period. Suresh Raina is second with 369 games.

As captain of the Indian team

Tenure as skipper: 2008-2014

His first Test as captain was against South Africa in Kanpur in April 2008, because of an injury to regular captain Anil Kumble, and he took over full time after Kumble retired following the Delhi Test against Australia in October. Dhoni led India to the No. 1 Test ranking in 2009, a position it enjoyed until the tour of England in 2011.

Most successful Indian skipper

Dhoni's captaincy record: 60 matches, 27 wins, 18 losses, 15 draws, win% 45. Second comes Sourav Ganguly with 21 wins in 49 matches, win% 42.85.

Most successful Indian skipper at home

Dhoni's captaincy record: 30 matches, 21 wins, 3 losses, 6 draws, win % 70. Second comes Mohammad Azharuddin with 13 wins in 20 matches, win % 65.

Most runs as India’s captain

Dhoni's numbers: 3454 runs, 5 hundreds, 24 fifties, avg 40.63. Second comes Sunil Gavaskar with 3449 runs with 11 hundreds and 14 fifties at an avg of 50.72.

Highest individual score by an Indian captain

Dhoni's numbers: 224 off 265 against Australia in 2013. Second comes Sachin Tendulkar with 217 off 344 against New Zealand in 1999.

Highest individual score by a wicket-keeper captain

Dhoni's numbers: 224 off 265 against Australia in 2013. Second comes Mushfiqur Rahim with 200 off 321 against Sri Lanka in 2013.

As batsman

Runs scored

4876 runs scored at an average of 38

Highest score

224 against Australia in Chennai in 2013

As wicketkeeper

Wickets taken

As a wicketkeeper: 294 dismissals, the fifth highest in Test cricket

Highest individual score by an Indian wicket-keeper

Dhoni's numbers: 224 off 265 against Australia in 2013. Second comes BK Kunderan with 192 against England in 1964.

Most dismissals in a match by an Indian wicket-keeper

Dhoni's numbers: 9 dismissals - 8 catches and 1 stumping against Australia in 2014. Nayan Mongia (twice) and Dhoni himself (thrice) occupy the second spot with 8 dismissals.

Dismissals by Dhoni

Most dismissals and most catches by an Indian wicket-keeper

Dhoni's statistics: 294 dismissals - 256 catches and 38 stumpings. Second comes Syed Kirmani with 198 dismissals - 160 catches and 38 stumpings.

2014: decline begins

In 2014 Dhoni suffered from fitness issues, missing five ODIs against Sri Lanka in November because of a hand injury, which also sidelined him from the first Test against Australia in Adelaide. In addition to the pressure of leading India in all three formats, and the Chennai Super Kings franchise, for six years Dhoni has also had to play an extraordinary amount of matches.

His batting form took a dip in 2014 and he averaged only 33 in 17 innings this year. His wicketkeeping has also deteriorated, in particular his ability to move laterally to take testing catches. India's overseas results have also suffered under Dhoni's leadership in recent years. Since 2011, they have won only two out of 22 away Tests and lost 13.

Statistics

Batting and fielding averages

Bowling statistics

Retirement

From test cricket

Partha Bhaduri The Times of India Dec 31 2014

In A Sudden, Surprising Move, Indian Skipper Retired From TestsCommon Sense Helped Dhoni Make His Mark In A Format In Which He Had Little Technical Nous

M S Dhoni's Test career came to an end in the same way that he hadoften played his cricket -with a quirky, inscrutable move that seemed to defy logic and left eyebrows raised all around.

The Indian cricket board (BCCI) announced Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket, effective immediately , minutes after India managed a draw in the third Test at the MCG on Tuesday .

Dhoni had had a good match in Melbourne. He fought it out for 39 balls, scoring an unbeaten 24 as India managed to avoid yet another defeat in an overseas Test. He also effected nine dismissals behind the stumps, the most by an Indian wicketkeeper in a Test. But India was by then 0-2 behind in the four-Test series. With a third match drawn and only one match left, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy had been conceded to Australia.Dhoni decided he had had enough.

The decision had been brewing for a while but a phone call to BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel sealed the deal. Patel revealed that Dhoni phoned him soon after the Test in Melbourne end ed to convey the news. He also asked Patel to delay the announcement slightly as he wanted to inform the team. A little later, he called up Patel and told him he could go ahead.

Dhoni didn't give even a whiff of his retirement at the post-match interaction. He talked about sledging, he talked about draws. He went on and on. But not a word on retirement.

The BCCI did it for him mere moments after he left, citing “the strain of playing all formats“ as the reason for his abrupt departure. The team hotel here in the heart of Melbourne's CBD was immediately locked down for all outsiders. It was, like one of his stumpings, deftly done.

From being the leader of a team which rose to the top of the world Test rankings, Dhoni's fortunes nosedived, leading to his swift, silent departure in the middle of an important series. He hands the reins over to a still-learning, still-maturing Virat Kohli. Some will say it is a cop-out.Others will say it was long overdue.

Relationships

Laxmi Raai

The Times of India

According to a report, Tamil actress Laxmi Raai broke up with cricketer MS Dhoni in 2009, but she says she still keeps stumbling upon reports that talk about their affair and she hates it. Reportedly, the actress changed her name to Raai Laxmi and has been in three relationships since, but the past seems to stick on. "I've begun to believe that my relationship with Dhoni is like a stain or a scar which won't go away for a long time. I'm surprised that people still have the energy and patience left to talk about it even now. Every time TV channels dig into Dhoni's past, they make it a point to bring up our relationship. I dread to think that some day in the future, my kids will see it on TV and ask me about it! I have had three or four relationships after Dhoni, but no one seems to have noticed it," the report quotes the actress. However, there seems to be no love lost between her and Dhoni, the report further states. "I knew him really well and don't know if I can call it a relationship because it never worked out. We still have respect for each other. He has moved on and gotten married. That's the end of the story . I'm a very happy person right now and work is my priority," the report quotes the actress.