Full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Current age 26 years 163 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Bihar, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
Mahendra Sigh Dhoni a.k.a Mahi was born on July 7 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. As a child he loved to play Badminton and football. He scored so well in the sports that he was selected at district and club level to achieve greater heights. However the destiny has always taken a varied path to taste sweet success. It drove him to the field of cricket to be recognised as a cricketer than a football or a badminton player.
Mahi debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India for a tour to Kenya in 2004. As a child he idolized three people, Cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar. Next to cricket his love for riding bike is well known.
Dhoni made his debut for Jharkhand in the 1999-2000 at the age of 18. He started off his career with modest performances at the local level. The national team selectors noticed him in 2004 after his performances in first class tournaments such as the Deodhar Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. He was selected to represent India 'A' on a tour of Kenya and his splendid performances were good enough to make his entry in the Indian national team, making his one-day international debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in December of that year.
In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a stunning 148 and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out (which is also his highest score) at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs.
He made an instant impact on the Test level too, hammering 148 at Faisalabad, in only his fifth Test, when India was struggling to avoid the follow on.
He was elevated to the vice-captaincy of the one-day squad for the tour of England and Ireland in 2007 and, soon after, was appointed captain of the Twenty20 squad for the World Championship in South Africa. He was handed the reins of the one-day side in September 2007 after Rahul Dravid decided to step down as captain.
Twenty20 match was a blessing to the young Indian team headed by Dhoni. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 World Twenty20 against finalist Pakistan Team. He made the attempt to give India the celebration of 1983 World cup.
Listening music, ghazals and songs of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeskar; loves to ride bikes and playing computer games and badminton are the hobbies and interest of Dhoni. But, he is not interested in English songs and working out at gyms.
Think positive, highly confident and being aggressive on the field are some of his spectacular qualities.
Reports are floating that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the highest tax payer in his state. He has paid up to 75 lakhs as advance tax and this sum could go as high as 4 crores in final assessment.
Written by : Vikash Ranjan
