Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrates his 39th birthday today. In his stellar career, MS Dhoni has left a mark in the world of cricket that will shine for years to come. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who is regarded as one of the most successful captains of the Indian cricket team, has been away from the cricket field for nearly a year, and yet conversations about his return or future retirement have never died out.
In his career as captain, Dhoni led India to 2007 T20I World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy – and he became the first captain to have won all three ICC tournaments. Several members of the Indian cricket fraternity, including current India captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri took to Twitter to wish Dhoni the best on his special day. “Happy b’day Mahi Bhai. Wish you good health and happiness always. God bless you,” skipper Virat Kohli tweeted. “Happy Birthday Youngster! Have an absolute blast Legend,” Indian team coach Ravi Shastri tweeted. “Inspiration to his Army and Decimation to the Army beyond the Enemy lines. Couldn’t find a better phrase to define @msdhoni, happy birthday Mahi Bhai, have a great day and continue to inspire all of us,” Ashwin tweeted. Suresh Raina also took to Instagram and wrote: ”Here’s wishing a very Happy Birthday to one of my favorite human, brother & a leader I could ever ask for! The man who has always played with his mind and heart. His Captaincy has not just been successful because of his decisions but also because of his faith in every member of his team! So cheers to our Special No. 7, who made winning as a habit. Thank you for all the inspiration @mahi7781 Bhai.” As promised earlier, Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings teammate Dwayne Bravo also released his song dedicated to the former India captain.
Dhoni has played 90 Tests in which he amassed 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He has also played 350 ODIs in which he has scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. Dhoni, formerly known as ‘captain cool’ during his captaincy days, has also played 98 T20Is for India in which he has scored 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60. Apart from his batting prowess, and captaincy records, Dhoni has also been one of the best wicketkeepers in the world in the past decade. He has redefined techniques to cause lightning-quick run-outs and stumpings. But as he remains focused on his keeping duties, his thinking mind is always glued to what goes on in the game at all times. This is why he has also been one of the most successful players to make DRS calls from behind the stumps. Perhaps, this is why the fans on social media have now termed DRS as the ‘Dhoni Review System’.
