Career statistics

Competition	Test	ODI	T20I	T20
Matches	90	350	98	377
Runs scored	4,876	10,773	1,617	7,271
Batting average	38.09	50.53	37.60	37.86
100s/50s	6/33	10/73	0/2	0/28
Top score	224	183*	56	85*
Balls bowled	96	36	–	12
Wickets	0	1	–	0
Bowling average	–	31.00	–	–
5 wickets in innings	–	0	–	–
10 wickets in match	–	0	–	–
Best bowling	–	1/14	–	–
Catches/stumpings	256/38	321/123	57/34	214/87

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (/məˈhɛndrə ˈsɪŋ ˈdoʊni/; born 7 July 1981) is an Indian professional cricketer. He is a right handed batter and a wicket-keeper. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific wicket-keeper-batsmen and captains, he represented the Indian cricket team and was the captain of the side in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2017 and in test cricket from 2008 to 2014. Dhoni has captained the most international matches and is the most successful Indian captain. He has led India to victory in the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, the only captain to win three different limited overs tournaments. He also led the teams that won the Asia Cup in 2010, 2016 and was a member of the title winning squad in 2018.

Born in Ranchi, Dhoni made his first class debut for Bihar in 1999. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team on 23 December 2004 in an ODI against Bangladesh and played his first test a year later against Sri Lanka. In 2007, he became the captain of the ODI side before taking over in all formats by 2008. Dhoni retired from test cricket in 2014, but continued playing in limited overs cricket till 2019. He has scored 17,266 runs in international cricket including 10,000 plus runs at an average of more than 50 in ODIs.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Dhoni plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), leading them to the final on ten occasions and winning it five times (2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023). He has also led CSK to two Champions League T20 titles in 2010 and 2014. Dhoni is amongst the few batsmen to have scored more than five thousand runs in the IPL, as well as being the first wicket-keeper to do so.

In 2008, Dhoni was awarded India's highest sport honor Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by Government of India. He received the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2009 and third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2018. Dhoni holds an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army which was presented to him by the Indian Army in 2011. He is one of the most popular cricketers in the world.

Early life

Dhoni was born on 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) in a Hindu Rajput family to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi. His parents hailed from Lwali village in Uttar Pradesh (now Uttarakhand) and he was the youngest of three children. His family spells the surname as "Dhauni".

Dhoni did his schooling at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir where he started playing football as a goal keeper but later moved to play cricket on the suggestion of his coach Keshav Banerjee. From 2001 to 2003, Dhoni worked as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur under South Eastern Railway zone of Indian Railways.

Early career

He played as a wicket-keeper for Commando cricket club from 1995 to 1998 and Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team in 1998. At CCL, he batted higher up the order and helped the team qualify to the higher division. Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season of Vinoo Mankad Trophy under-16 championship. In the 1998–99, Dhoni played for Bihar U-19 team in the Cooch Behar Trophy and scored 176 runs in 5 matches. In the 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy, the Bihar U-19 cricket team made it to the finals, where Dhoni made 84 in a losing cause. Dhoni's contribution in the tournament included 488 runs in nine matches with five fifties, 17 catches and seven stumpings. Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the C. K. Nayudu Trophy in the 1999–2000 season and scored only 97 runs in four matches, as East Zone lost all the matches and finished last in the tournament.

Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar against Assam in the 1999–2000 season, as an eighteen-year-old scoring 68 runs in the second innings. 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 Ranji Trophy season. Apart from this century, his performance in the 2000/01 season did not include another score over fifty and in the 2001–02 Ranji Trophy season, he scored just five fifties in four Ranji matches. Dhoni's played for Jharkhand in the 2002–03 Ranji Trophy and represented East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy where he started gaining recognition for his lower-order 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 tournament and was part of the East Zone squad that won the Deodhar Trophy 2003–2004 season scoring 244 runs in four matches.

In the Duleep Trophy finals, Dhoni represented East zone and scored a fighting half-century in the second innings in a losing cause. Dhoni was identified as one of the emerging talents via the BCCI's small-town talent-spotting initiative TRDW. In 2004, Dhoni was picked for the India A squad for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. Against the Zimbabwe XI in Harare Sports Club, Dhoni effected seven catches and scored 96* in his first match to help India A win the match. Dhoni scored 59* in the next match against the same team scoring 110* runs in two matches. In Kenya's match against India A, Dhoni scored a 62-ball 64 in the second match but was run out cheaply in the next match. Dhoni finished the tour with a total of 362 runs in six matches.

International career

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in December 2004 and was run out for a duck. In the second match, Dhoni batted at No. 3 and scored 12 runs and was caught behind by Khaled Mashud. He was promoted to No. 3 ahead of the likes of Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh as a pinch-hitter. In the second innings of the third match, he scored 7 runs in 20 balls before being run out by Mohammad Rafique. In the first ODI of the series against Pakistan, Dhoni was promoted to No. 3, and he scored 148 in his fifth match and was run out by Shoaib Malik. Dhoni's performance earned him widespread recognition.

2007 World T20 and captaincy

India recorded identical 3–1 victories over West Indies and Sri Lanka in early 2007 with Dhoni averaging in excess of 100 in both the series. Subsequently, Dhoni was part of the squad for 2007 Cricket World Cup in which India unexpectedly crashed out in the group stage after losses to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with Dhoni scoring ducks in both these matches and just 29 runs in the tournament. As a result, Dhoni's house in Ranchi was vandalized and damaged by activists of JMM and security was tightened for his family. Dhoni scored 91* against Bangladesh in the first match of the ODI series in May 2007 which fetched the Man of the Match award while also later winning the Man of the Series after the third game of the series was washed away. Dhoni played for ACC Asia XI cricket team in the Afro-Asia Cup, scoring 174 runs in three matches at an average of 87 including 139 off 97 balls in the third ODI.

Dhoni was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the 2007 Future Cup against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent seven-match series against England. Dhoni was awarded an 'A' grade contract by BCCI in June 2007. Dhoni was appointed as the captain of the Indian squad for the inaugural World Twenty20 in September 2007. Dhoni led India to victory in the tournament after defeating Pakistan in the final. Dhoni was appointed as the captain of Indian cricket team in all formats later.

On 2 September 2007, Dhoni equaled Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by effecting six dismissals against England. Dhoni took his first and only wicket in international cricket on 30 September 2009 when he bowled Travis Dowlin of West Indies in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy. However, he scored just three runs in the only match he batted with India crashing out of the series in the group stage after the match against Australia was washed out. Dhoni averaged more than 60 in the 2008-09 season. Dhoni scored two centuries during Sri Lanka's tour of India in November 2009 which India won to achieve the top ranking in ICC test ranking for the first time in its history. Dhoni had an excellent year in ODIs in 2009, scoring 1198 runs in just 24 innings, at an average of 70.43 and topped the ICC ODI batsman rankings for several months. He was named as captain and wicket-keeper of the ICC ODI Team of the year.

2011 World Cup win and later

Dhoni led the Indian squad for the 2011 Cricket World Cup co-hosted by India. India won its second ever ODI world cup after defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on 2 April 2011. Dhoni was awarded the Man of the Match award in the final, scored 91 not out off 79 balls. He broke the record for the highest score by a captain in a World Cup final, and also broke the record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in ODIs. For his performance in 2011, Dhoni was named as the captain of the World Cup XI by the ICC.

On 8 July 2011, Dhoni was conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army. Dhoni holds the post of Vice-President of India Cements Ltd., after resigning from Air India. India's tour of Australia in 2011–12 under Dhoni was historic as India won the Test series 4–0, the first time it had won more than two Tests in a series in Australia. Dhoni's Test batting average exceeded 50 in 2013, the year in which he became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies and also attain the number one ranking in Tests. On 30 December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect after the third Test against Australia had ended in a draw.

2013 ICC Champions Trophy

Dhoni was the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2013, amassing 753 runs from 18 matches at an average of 83.66. In the Champions Trophy in England, India won all the five matches played under Dhoni's captaincy and won the final against England by five runs. He became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs trophies (World Cup, Champions Trophy and the World Twenty20). He was the top run-scorer in the Champions Trophy tournament, with 363 runs in 5 matches. For his performances in 2013, he was named in the World ODI XI by the ICC for the seventh time in his career. On 27 September 2013, Dhoni equaled Allan Border's record of most wins as captain in ODIs.

Retirement

On 15 August 2020, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.

Domestic career

Dhoni played for Bihar state cricket team since 1999 before representing Jharkhand later. He has also played for Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, East zone and Rest of India in domestic cricket. In BCCI Corporate trophy, he played for Air India until his resignation from the company in 2013. In February 2005, Dhoni played for India seniors in Challenger trophy, where he scored 102 against India B.Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) appointed him captain of the Jharkhand team in February 2017 for the 2017-18 Vijay Hazare trophy and on 25 February 2017, he scored his first ever domestic list-A century against Chhattisgarh and led the team to the quarter final where Jharkhand lost against Delhi.

Indian Premier League

Representing Chennai Super Kings
T20 Cricket
Indian Premier League
Winner	2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023
Runner-up	2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019
Champions League
Winner	2010, 2014

Representing Rising Pune Supergiants
T20 Cricket
Indian Premier League
Runner-up	2017

Dhoni was acquired by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for US$1.5 million during the auction for the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was the most expensive signing in the auction. Dhoni scored 414 runs to lead CSK to the finals in the first season of IPL. Under his captaincy, CSK won the 2010 edition and qualified for Champions League Twenty20. Chennai won the 2010 Champions league. Dhoni scored 392 runs and led CSK to its second consecutive IPL title in 2011. Dhoni led CSK to its second Champions League Twenty20 title in 2014. Dhoni scored 2987 runs from 129 matches in the IPL across the first eight seasons for the Super Kings.

Following the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, two new franchises Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions were established for the 2016 Indian Premier League season. Supergiants picked Dhoni as one of their five draft picks on 15 December 2015 for ₹125 million (US$1.6 million). He scored 574 runs in 30 matches across two seasons for the Supergiants.

Dhoni returned to CSK for the 2018 season. He scored 455 runs and led his team to its third IPL title. Dhoni led CSK to the title again in 2021 and was retained for ₹12 crore (US$1.5 million) before the auction for the 2022 season. Dhoni stepped down from captaincy ahead of that season and Ravindra Jadeja was appointed the new captain. However, a month later, Jadeja handed over the captaincy back to Dhoni in the middle of the season. Dhoni led the franchise to victory again the following season. Under his captaincy, CSK became the most successful IPL franchise with five title wins and ten final appearances. Dhoni became the first player to play 200 T20 matches for CSK and holds the record for most appearances in the IPL. Ahead of the 2024 season, Dhoni handed over captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad. He marked his 250th appearance for CSK in this season, in a league stage match against Mumbai Indians on 14 April 2024, helping his team secure a 20-run win, following his unbeaten four-ball 20.

Outside cricket

Dhoni holds an honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army (106 Para TA battalion). The honorary rank was presented to him by the Indian Army in 2011 for his service to the nation as a cricketer. After completing five parachute training jumps from Indian Army aircraft in the Agra training camp, he became a qualified paratrooper in 2015. In August 2019, he completed a two-week stint with the Territorial Army in Jammu and Kashmir. While spending a day with the parachute regiment in Ranchi, Dhoni said, I wanted to become a soldier not a cricketer, "Since childhood I wanted to join the Army. Seeing the soldiers, I thought that one day I'll be the same".

Dhoni holds the post of vice-president in India Cements Ltd, the company owned by former BCCI president N. Srinivasan. Dhoni is a co-owner of Chennai-based football club Chennaiyin FC, a franchise of the Indian Super League. He also co-owns Ranchi-based hockey club Ranchi Rays, a franchise of the Hockey India League.In February 2016, Dhoni launched lifestyle brand SEVEN which he co-owns while also serving as its brand ambassador. In 2019, Dhoni invested in vehicle re-seller CARS24 and simultaneously became brand ambassador of the company. On 11 October 2022, Dhoni invested in Shaka Harry, a plant-based protein company.

In 2019, Dhoni Entertainment entered into a long-term business agreement with Banijay Asia to produce content across various genres. The first show developed by the company was a documentary web series titled Roar of The Lion for Disney+ Hotstar in 2019 which dealt with the ban of Chennai Super Kings from the Indian Premier League in 2016 and their return to win the title in 2018. The production house produced a Tamil language romantic drama LGM which was released on 28 July 2023.

Dhoni is one of the most popular cricketers in the world. He serves as a brand ambassdor and endorses more than 35 brands across various segments. As of 2022, Dhoni has more than 75 million followers on social media platforms and his brand value was projected to be $80.3 million by Duff and Phelps. Dhoni's popularity is often compared to Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run scorer in international cricket. The No.7 jersey has been made popular by Dhoni which was retired in 2023 by BCCI. Dhoni has developed a special connection with the city of Chennai whose IPL franchise he represents with fans calling him 'Thala' meaning leader in Tamil.

Playing style

Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is an unorthodox batsman who deviates from conventional coaching manuals to showcase his batting technique. Dhoni displays a proclivity for hitting full-length deliveries towards the Long-on, Long-off, and Midwicket regions, rather than the conventional Cover region. He plays pull shots and hook shots off short-pitched deliveries often putting pressure on the bowler to adjust their line and length accordingly. Dhoni holds the bat with a firm grip at the bottom of the handle, striking the ball with force and precision to clear the boundary. He is a powerful hitter of the ball and is one of the fastest men in running between the wickets. He plays the helicopter shot technique, taught to him by a fellow player and childhood friend Santosh Lal. As a batsman, he is recognized for his finishing skills in high-pressure situations.

As a wicket-keeper, he has been praised for his fast reflexes behind the stumps while also being criticized for the lack of good technique. He is known for his unorthodox captaincy, approachability and has earned a reputation of being a successful leader. Dhoni is also known for his cool-headed demeanor on the field which has earned him the monicker "Captain cool".

Personal life

Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat on 4 July 2010 in Dehradun. Dhoni and his wife have a daughter who was born on 6 February 2015. He lives in his farmhouse outside Ranchi. Dhoni owns a number of bikes and cars in his collection.

Career statistics

Dhoni has scored 4876 runs in Test matches at an average of 38 and 10773 runs at an average of above 50 in ODIs. He has scored 16 centuries and 106 fifties in his international career. Dhoni has one of the highest averages in ODI cricket. Dhoni has scored more than 3200 runs across 377 T20 matches. Dhoni has taken 634 catches and effected 195 stumpings in his international career making him one of the most prolific wicket-keepers of all time.

Dhoni's ODI record

	Mat	Runs	Best	Bat Avg.	SR	100s	50s	4s	6s	Catches	Stumpings
Home	127	4351	183*	53.71	91.60	7	25	350	116	99	48
Away	145	4520	101*	50.78	83.98	1	37	324	73	126	46
Neutral	78	1902	139*	44.23	87.60	2	11	152	40	96	29
Total	350	10773	183*	50.57	87.56	10	78	826	229	321	123

Captaincy

In 2007, Dhoni was appointed captain of the captain of the Indian team and served as the captain of all formats from 2008. He captained the Indian team in 332 matches including 200 ODIs and was one of the most prolific and successful captains of all time.

Dhoni captaincy record

Type	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	No result
Test	60	27	18	15	–	–
ODI	200	110	74	–	5	11
T20I	72	41	28	–	1	2

Records and achievements

Tests

• Most runs by an Indian wicket-keeper (4876)
• Most number of sixes by an Indian captain (78)
• Most dismissals by an Indian and fifth most by any wicket-keeper (294)

ODIs

• Most wins by an Indian captain and second most overall (110)
• Second most runs as captain (6641)
• Third most number of matches as captain (200)
• First player to pass 10,000 runs with an average of over 50
• Most not-outs (84)
• Highest score by a wicket-keeper (183)
• Highest eighth wicket partnership for India (100* with Bhuvneshwar Kumar)
• Most dismissals in an innings (6) and career (432) by an Indian wicket-keeper
• Most stumpings by any wicket-keeper (123)

T20Is

• Second most matches as captain (72)
• Most T20I innings (76) and runs (1,153) before scoring a fifty
• Most stumpings as wicket-keeper (34)
• Most catches as wicket keeper in a T20I innings (5)

Combined

• Most international matches as captain (332)
• Most stumpings (195) and only wicket-keeper to make 150 stumpings
• Third most dismissals as a wicket-keeper (829)
• Sixth most sixes in career (359)

Honors

India

• ICC World T20: 2007
• Asia Cup: 2010, 2016, 2018
• Cricket World Cup: 2011
• ICC Champions Trophy: 2013

Chennai Super Kings

• Indian Premier League: 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023
• Champions League: 2010, 2014

Individual

• MTV Youth Icon of the Year: 2006
• Honorary doctorate degree by De Montfort University: 2011
• CNN-News18 Indian of the Year: 2011
• Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna award: 2008
• Padma Shri: 2009
• Honorary Lieutenant Colonel,Parachute Regiment of the Indian Territorial Army: 2011
• Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year: 2011
• ICC People's Choice Award: 2013
• Padma Bhushan: 2018
• ICC ODI Player of the Year: 2008, 2009
• ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 (captain in 2009, 2011–2014)
• ICC Men's ODI team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper)
• ICC Men's T20I team of the decade: 2011–2020 (captain and wicket-keeper)
• ICC Spirit of the cricket award of the decade: 2011–2020

Others

In 2019, Jharkhand Cricket Association named the JSCA stadium's south stand after Dhoni. In 2023, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) decided to honour him by dedicating seats (J282–J286) at the Wankhede Stadium where he hit the winning shot in 2011 World Cup final.

In popular culture

• A film based on Dhoni's life from his childhood to the 2011 world cup win, titled M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, with Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role was released on 29 September 2016.
• The Dhoni Touch: unraveling the enigma that is Mahendra Singh Dhoni, a book by Bharat Sundaresan.
• Dhoni (2012), a Tamil feature film, directed and produced by Prakash Raj where the plot illustrates the conflicting interests of a father and his son with the father wanting his son to study MBA but his son wanting to become a cricketer like Dhoni.