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Mahendra Singh Dhoni 
pronunciation (help·info) (born 7 July 1981), commonly known as M. S. Dhoni, is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team and the Chennai Super Kings cricket team. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.
pronunciation (help·info) (born 7 July 1981), commonly known as M. S. Dhoni, is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian national cricket team and the Chennai Super Kings cricket team. He made his One Day International (ODI) debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, and a year later played his first Test, this time against Sri Lanka.
He is captain of India in all three forms of the game and also led the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Under Dhoni's captaincy India became the first team after a gap of more than 40 years to whitewash Australia in a Test series. Dhoni also led the Indian team to the number one position in ICC rankings in Test cricket for the first time. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007–08, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and 2010 against Australia 2–0, Asia cup 2010 and 2011 World Cup. His Test and ODI records are the best for Indian captains to date. He also captained Chennai Super Kings to victory in the recent 2011 IPL and in the Champions League. He was named as the captain of ICC World Test and ICC ODI teams for 2009. In the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, he hit 91 not out of just 79 balls to lead India to victory. For his outstanding batting in the final, he was awarded as the man of the match.
Dhoni also holds the post of Vice-President of India Cements Ltd. (ICL) after resigning from Air India. ICL is the owner of the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, and Dhoni has been its captain since the first edition of IPL.[2][3]
Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), theRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. In 2009 Dhoni topped the list of world’s top 10 earning cricketers compiled by Forbes[4] and he has been ranked as 31st richest sportsman in the world according to the Forbes Highest Paid Athletes for the year 2012. Dhoni’s total earnings are estimated to be USD 26.5 million according to Forbes.[5][6] The TIME magazine added him in its "Time 100" list of 100 most influential people of 2011.[7]SportsPro has rated MS Dhoni as the 16th most remarkable athlete in the world.[8]
In March 2013 he became the most successful Indian Test captain when he eclipsedSourav Ganguly’s record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.[9
Early life and background
Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand),[10] and he identifies as being a Rajput.[11] His paternal village Lvali is in the Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents, moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where Pan Singh worked in junior management positions in MECON. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti Gupta and a brother Narendra Singh Dhoni.[12][13] Dhoni is a fan ofAdam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were cricket teammate Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan and singer Lata Mangeshkar[14][15]
Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM, Shyamli, Ranchi) Ranchi, Jharkhand where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995–1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well.[13] Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.[16] Dhoni was a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station from 2001 to 2003, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W), a district in West Bengal. His colleagues remember him as a very honest, straightforward employee of the Indian Railways. But he also had a mischievous side to his personality. Once, while staying at the railway quarters, Dhoni and a couple of his friends covered themselves in white bedsheets and walked around in the complex late in the night. The night guards were fooled into believing that there were ghosts moving around in the complex. The story made big news on the next day
Domestic career
Junior cricket in Bihar
Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998/99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) and Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357. Bihar's efforts were dwarfed by Punjabunder-19s' 839 with Dhoni's future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358.[26] Dhoni's contribution for the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches and 7 stumpings.[27] Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs in four matches as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.
Bihar cricket team
Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen-year-old. He made a half century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against Assam cricket team.[28] Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century while playing for Bihar against Bengal in the 2000/01 season in a losing cause.[29] Apart from the century, his performance in the 2000/01[30] did not include another score over fifty and in 2001/02 season he scored just five fifty in each season in four Ranji matches.[31]
Jharkhand cricket team
Dhoni's performance for the 2002/03 season in the Ranji Trophy included three half centuries in the Ranji Trophy and a couple of half-centuries in the Deodhar Trophy competition as he started winning recognition for his lower-order run contribution as well as hard hitting batting style.In the 2003/04 season, Dhoni scored a century (128*) against Assam in the first match of the Ranji ODI trophy. He was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy for the year and contributed with 244 runs in 4 matches. In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East zone.[32] He scored a fighting half century in the second innings in a losing cause.[33]
The future captain was discovered via the BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. Dhoni was discovered by TRDO PC Podar, captain of Bengal in the 1960s, when he saw Dhoni play for Jharkhand at a match in Jamshedpur in 2003, and sent a report to theNational Cricket Academy.[34]
India A team
He was recognised for his efforts in the 2003/04 season, especially in the ODI format and was picked for the India A squad for a tour ofZimbabwe and Kenya.[35] Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni had his best wicket-keeping effort with 7 catches and 4 stumpings in the match.[36] In the tri-nation tournament involving Kenya, India 'A' and Pakistan 'A', Dhoni helped India 'A' chase their target of 223 against Pakistan 'A' with a half-century.[37] Stressing on his performance, he scored back to back centuries – 120[38] and 119*[39] against the same squad. Dhoni scored 362 runs in 7 matches (6 innings, Avg:72.40), and his performance in the series received attention from the then Indian Cricket team captain – Sourav Ganguly[40] and Ravi Shastri amongst others. However, the India 'A' team coach Sandeep Patil recommended Dinesh Karthik for a place in the Indian squad as Wicket-keeper/Batsman.[41]
Indian Premier League
M.S.Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for 1.5 Million USD. This made him the most expensive player in the IPL for the first season auctions.[42] Dhoni is the present captain of the Chennai Super Kings Team. Under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings have won 2 Indian Premier League titles and the 2010 Champions League Twenty20.