One of India’s finest cricketers ever, and the evergreen ‘captain cool’ MS Dhoni turned 43 on July 07, 2024. The only captain in the world to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies, MS Dhoni had a gala time, celebrating his 43rd birthday, the video of which was shared by his wife on social media. The hilarious video became a talking point on social media after Sakshi was seen touching Dhoni’s feet in an epic manner, before folding hands in front of him. In the video, Dhoni also asked if the cake was eggless, probably worried about his vegetarian friends.

Dhoni needs no introduction in the world of cricket and is famous for his calm and stunning captaincy skills on the field in his international and IPL days. On August 15, 2020, Dhoni announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career.

Under Dhoni’s leadership, India bagged the top prize in all formats. Under his captaincy, India lead in the Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009. The side went on to win the 50-over World Cup in 2011, and the T20 world title on his captaincy debut in 2007.

Dhoni has one of the most inspiring journeys in sports history. From working as a ticket collector at a railway station, he transformed into India’s biggest trophy collector, leading the team to ICC T20 World Cup 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 as skipper. He made his international debut in 2004 and made a name for himself as a ferocious hitter of the cricket ball, but mellowed down with time to a finisher who would guide his team to wins with his calculated aggression and amazing tactics.

Dhoni, known as Chennai Super Kings’ “Thala” (leader), played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56.

Coming to his long format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests.

As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India’s most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series.

The people’s favourite ‘Mahi’ led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce results. His win percentage is 56.94.

Besides guiding India to ICC titles, he has also guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to franchise glory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League T20. He has led CSK to five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Dhoni has also led CSK to two CLT20 titles in 2010 and 2014.

Dhoni has played 264 IPL matches, mostly for CSK, other than a stint with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 to 2017. In these matches, he has scored 5,243 runs at an average of 39.13. He has also scored 24 half-centuries in the tournament. He also has 152 catches and 42 stumpings.

With these astonishing statistics as a middle-order batter and his success as a captain, it is unlikely that India and world cricket, in general, will witness a phenomenon like ‘captain cool’ again.

With ANI Inputs

Former Indian cricket team skipper MS Dhoni celebrated his 14th wedding anniversary with wife Sakshi Dhoni on Thursday. The legendary cricketer celebrated the occasion by cutting a cake together with his wife and the video has gone viral on social media. The video showed both of them cutting the cake and feeding each other at their residence in Ranchi. Sakshi also shared a collage of pictures of herself and Dhoni on social media platform Instagram along with the caption – “Starting our 15th year.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team for breakfast on Thursday during which, he said, there were “memorable” conversations on the side’s experiences through the marquee event co-hosted by USA and the West Indies.

The Rohit Sharma-led squad, that won the title after defeating South Africa by seven runs in the final last week, arrived in Delhi early morning after being stranded in Bridgetown, Barbados for five days due to a category 4 hurricane.

“An excellent meeting with our Champions! Hosted the World Cup winning team at 7, LKM and had a memorable conversation on their experiences through the tournament,” Modi posted on ‘X’ along with pictures of him with the team.

The PM was flanked by Rohit and outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid in the group picture.

Several players later shared photos with the PM. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah posted an image of him and his wife, Sanjana Ganesan, basking in the moment with Modi holding their 10-month old son, Angad.

Kuldeep Yadav also shared images of his interaction and looked emotional while being hugged by Modi.

Pacer Arshdeep Singh and his parents were all smiles posing with Modi.

“What a great honour, meeting our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. Thank you sir for inviting us to the Prime Minister’s residence,” star batter Virat Kohli, who was adjudged player of the final for his 59-ball 76, posted on Instagram.

The team had earlier landed in Delhi amid much fanfare before heading to the Prime Minister’s residence for breakfast, where they spent close to two hours.

The Prime Minister’s Office shared a little over a minute-long video in which the players were seen engaging in a chat, sitting in a circle around Modi.

For the interaction, players wore customised jerseys with the world ‘CHAMPIONS’ inscribed in bold letters on the front.

It also featured two stars, denoting the two T20 World Cup titles, above the Team India crest on the top left corner. All of them were seen flashing smiles as they chatted with the PM.

BCCI president Roger Binny and secretary Jay Shah also presented the Prime Minister with a customised Team India jersey with ‘NAMO’ and ‘1’ inscribed on it.

(With PTI inputs)

File image of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.© X (Twitter)

The who’s who of Indian cricket fraternity, including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, hailed the title triumph in the T20 World Cup, saying it will inspire the country’s “starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams”. India’s first T20 world champion skipper Dhoni led the chorus of former and current cricketers, hailing Rohit Sharma’s men for regaining the trophy after 17 long years after beating South Africa by seven runs in a pulsating final in Barbados on Saturday.

Former skipper Dhoni, who led India to their maiden title win in 2007 in South Africa, praised the team for maintaining their calm during the adverse situations in the game.

“WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS 2024. My heart rate was up, well done on being calm, having the self belief and doing what u guys did,” (sic) Dhoni wrote on Instagram.

“From all the Indians back home and everywhere in the world a big thank you for bringing the World Cup Home. CONGRATULATIONS.arreeee thanks for the priceless birthday gift,” said Dhoni, who will turn 43 early next month.

The legendary Tendulkar took to social media to express his delight on India’s achievement, saying the country has now got a ‘fourth star’, following two 50-over World Cup wins in 1983 and 2011 as well as the historic triumph in the inaugural 2007 World T20.

“Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation’s starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in T20WC,” he wrote on ‘X’.

Tendulkar, who was a member of the Indian team which suffered a first-round exit in the 2007 50-overs World Cup, said life has come a full circle.

“Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World Cup to becoming a cricketing powerhouse and winning the T20WC in 2024,” he said.

“Very happy for my friend Rahul Dravid, who missed out on the 2011 World Cup win but his contribution to this T20 World Cup victory has been immense. I am so so happy for him.” Hailing Rohit’s captaincy and the contributions of the other squad members, Tendulkar said, “What can one say about Rohit Sharma? Superb captaincy! To put the 2023 ODI World Cup loss behind and to keep all our players motivated towards the T20 World Cup is commendable.” “Jasprit Bumrah’s Player of the Tournament award as well as Virat Kohli’s Player of the Match award are both well-deserved. They were just superb when it mattered,” he added.

“Along with Rahul, Paras Mhambrey and Vikram Rathour also made their international debuts in 1996. It was wonderful to see Team India excel under the guidance of this class of ’96.” “A total team effort. Hearty congratulations to all the players, coaches, support staff, and BCCI,” Tendulkar continued.

Gavaskar said that winning the trophy is like finally scoring a hundred.

“It is a great win after such a long time. Earlier, I kept saying that India was getting 90s but not getting centuries because they were reaching semi-finals and finals. Now, they have got a century and what a wonderful century this is,” the former India captain told PTI.

From VVS Laxman to Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly to Gautam Gambhir, everyone praised the stupendous achievement in unison.

“Congratulations Team India on becoming the T20 World Champions. Been the best team in the tournament remaining unbeaten throughout,” VVS Laxman, current head of the National Cricket Academy wrote on X.

“Great composure and character shown by the team to win this from the situation we were in with 5 overs remaining. Every player deserves credit for giving it their all and rising to the occasion and wonderfully led by Rohit,” he added.

“We are champions!” rejoiced ace spinner and 2011 World Cup winner Ravichandran Ashwin.

Former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble wrote, “Congratulations team India! Wonderful victory.” “YEH MERA INDIA. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS. SO PROUD OF YOU GUYS. (This is my India. We are the champions, so proud of you guys.),” wrote former spinner Harbhajan Singh.

An ambassador for the T20 World Cup in the Americas, Yuvraj Singh individually praised all the key members of the side.

“You did it boys ! @hardikpandya7 your a hero ! @Jaspritbumrah93 what an over to bring India back in the game ! Extremely ecstatic for @ImRo45 great captaincy under pressure ! @imVkohli #Rahul Dravid and the whole team indiavssa #ICCT20WorldCup2024,” he wrote.

“Well played @akshar2026 @IamShivamDube. koi reh to nahi gaya ! Oh @surya_14kumar what a catch under pressure,” Yuvraj added, wondering if he mistakenly did not leave out anyone.

Hero of two T20 World Cup finals and India’s would be coach Gautam Gambhir wrote, “CHAMPIONS!” Having earlier explained his standout moments of the game when it was under progress, legendary Sachin Tendulkar wrote, “Chak De India!!!!” Former India captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly also congratulated the side.

“Heartiest congratulations to Rohit sharma and his team .. what a game to win .. may be a World Cup in 11 (13) yrs but the talent the country has ,they will win many more ..” (Sic) “Bumrah is absolutely magic .. well done Virat,axar ,Hardik and every one .. rahul Dravid and the support staff .. what a proud moment,” (sic) Ganguly added.

The Indian cricket team ended a long wait on Saturday. The Rohit Sharma-led India outplayed South Africa in style in the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 to end a 11-year wait for an ICC title. Before Saturday, the last time India won an ICC title was in 2013, when they lifted the Champions Trophy under the leadership of MS Dhoni. In fact, the last time India won the T20 World Cup, MS Dhoni was the captain. So, when India broke the jinx, the reaction of India’s finest captain MS Dhoni was always going to be special. 

And MS Dhoni, who rarely puts up anything on social media, broke his long silence and congratulated the team.  

“WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS 2024.My heart rate was up, well done on being calm, having the self belief and doing what u guys did. From all the Indians back home and everywhere in the world a big thank you for bringing the World Cup Home. CONGRATULATIONS. arreeee thanks for the priceless birthday gift,” MS Dhoni wrote in an Instagram post.

Legendary Sachin Tendulkar also took to social media to express his delight on India’s achievement, saying the country has now got a ‘fourth star’, following two 50-over World Cup wins in 1983 and 2011 as well as the historic triumph in the inaugural 2007 World T20.

“Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation’s starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in T20WC,” he wrote on ‘X’.

Tendulkar, who was a member of the Indian team which suffered a first-round exit in the 2007 50-overs World Cup, said life has come a full circle.

“Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World Cup to becoming a cricketing powerhouse and winning the T20WC in 2024,” he said.

Every star added to the Team India jersey inspires our nation’s starry-eyed children to move one step closer to their dreams. India gets the 4th star, our second in @T20WorldCup.

Life comes full circle for Indian cricket in the West Indies. From our lows in the 2007 ODI World… pic.twitter.com/HMievynpsE

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) June 29, 2024

“Very happy for my friend Rahul Dravid, who missed out on the 2011 World Cup win but his contribution to this T20 World Cup victory has been immense. I am so so happy for him.” Hailing Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and the contributions of the other squad members, Tendulkar said, “What can one say about Rohit Sharma? Superb captaincy! To put the 2023 ODI World Cup loss behind and to keep all our players motivated towards the T20 World Cup is commendable.” “Jasprit Bumrah‘s Player of the Tournament award as well as Virat Kohli‘s Player of the Match award are both well-deserved. They were just superb when it mattered,” he added.

“Along with Rahul, Paras Mhambrey and Vikram Rathour also made their international debuts in 1996. It was wonderful to see Team India excel under the guidance of this class of ’96.” “A total team effort. Hearty congratulations to all the players, coaches, support staff, and BCCI,” Tendulkar continued.

With PTI inputs

Indian cricket fans on social media have gone crazy as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s new haircut has been revealed in public. Popular hair stylist Aalim Hakim shared a few pictures of MS Dhoni‘s latest cut on Instagram, with the post drawing over 50,000 likes in the first hour. Dhoni’s long hairstyle, which he donned during IPL 2024, has made way for a shorter but more wavy version. The Chennai Super Kings star keeps his profile low outside of the IPL, but this has given MS Dhoni fans a chance to stay up to date with their idol.

“Our Young, Dynamic and Handsome Mahendra Singh Dhoni,” wrote Aalim Hakim in the caption to the post.

“It’s a pure joy to cut and style our Thala’s hair and he is always courteous enough to let me click his pictures,” wrote Hakim.

Dhoni is fondly nicknamed ‘Thala’ by Chennai Super Kings fans, which translates to “leader” in Tamil.

After IPL 2024, fans have not had much of a glimpse of the former India captain. However, this cut comes a couple of weeks after a video of Dhoni relaxing in his farmhouse in Ranchi had gone viral.

In that video, Dhoni was still donning his long hairstyle. However, this time, India’s iconic No. 7 is flaunting a shorter cut, styling it with different shades of brown.

Fans of Dhoni are still hoping for him to play again in IPL 2025. Having given up captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, and with a mega auction on the way, it is unsure whether Dhoni would carry on playing.

However, if his form is anything to go by, Dhoni should certainly keep playing. In IPL 2024, Dhoni scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 220, usually coming in to bat at a lowly no. 8.

Presently, Team India are looking to win the 2024 T20 World Cup, which was first won by Dhoni in 2007 with a young India unit.

After an unbeaten run in the group stage and the Super 8s, Team India has entered the semi-final of the T20 World Cup. However, the road to the coveted ICC trophy will not be an easy one as they have to face the defending champions England in the semi-finals. This match will trigger many harsh memories for Indian fans as earlier in 2022, Team India lost the semi-finals against England by 10 wickets and missed out on the T20 World Cup title.

Back in 2007, India lifted the inaugural title of T20 World Cup, under the leadership of the legendary MS Dhoni. It was the first time when Dhoni wore the captain’s hat and went on to become India’s successful skipper. However, former India batter Yuvraj Singh’s father, Yograj Singh, has issued a fiery remark against the 42-year-old player.

In a video going viral on social media, Yograj stated that he eagerly wants to see Team India lifting the World Cup trophy, especially when Dhoni is not in the team. He even mentioned that the likes of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma have also issued some statements against the Chennai Super Kings skipper. 

“As an Indian, I want India to win. Dhoni nahi hai, phir jeet jayenge (India should win the World Cup now that MS Dhoni is not there). The whole world is saying it. Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are also saying it,” said Yograj. 

Yograj Singh’s Bold Claim: “No Dhoni, India Will Crush Pakistan!” In a fiery statement, Yograj Singh predicts India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup without MS Dhoni, fueling heated debates among cricket fans and experts.

[Dhoni, India vs Pakistan, Cricket, Controversy] pic.twitter.com/2MGSDwVY2K

— Punjabi Mania (@punjabi_mania) June 9, 2024

He also went on to claim that CSK lost IPL 2024 because of Dhoni’s bad deeds. He also accused Dhoni of being “jealous” of Yuvraj. 

“CSK lost IPL 2024. Why did they lose? It’s whatever you sow, so shall you reap. Yuvraj Singh is the ICC Ambassador, hats off to him! And this jealous Dhoni, where is he? He didn’t even shake hands with Yuvraj, and that is the reason why CSK failed this year,” he added.

Talking about Team India, Rohit Sharma and co will take on England in the semi-final match on Thursday in Guyana. Earlier in the day, South Africa will face Afghanistan in the first semi-final match in Trinidad. 

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that his goal as a young cricketer was to gain the approval of MS Dhoni. Although one of the finest bowlers of his generation now with over 516 Test wickets, at one stage, Ashwin was a young player in the Chennai Super Kings squad who was yet to get a chance. In a launch event of his new book ‘I Have the Streets – A Kutti Cricket Story’, Ashwin said that it had taken him till 2009 to gain Dhoni’s attention.

Despite being picked by Chennai Super Kings in 2008, Ashwin said that Dhoni did not know of his existence in the inaugural IPL season.

“MS Dhoni didn’t even know someone like me existed in 2008. So, I made it my life goal, from 2009, to get the wicket of MS Dhoni,” Ashwin said.

“I bowled an unbelievable spell in the Challenger Trophy in Nagpur. MS struggled throughout the spell. Once, when he tried to play, the ball went through the gates. I got him out in the final,” Ashwin reminisced.

“From then on, MS Dhoni saw me as someone with skill, and the relationship matured,” he said.

While playing just two games in IPL 2009, Ashwin would turn into a key cog in CSK’s lineup from 2010, helping the franchise to their first IPL title.

“If MS decides a horse is not ready to race, he won’t use you. He needs to know you’re a horse. But once he knows you’re a horse, he will look past you only when you feel like giving up,” said Ashwin.

“That is MS Dhoni. He believes in you,” he said.

Ashwin joined India Cements in early June, and is reportedly set to take charge of the Chennai Super Kings High Performance Centre. This move also leaves the door open for Ashwin’s return to CSK next season, with the mega auction coming up before IPL 2025.

Former Indian cricket team batter Gautam Gambhir opened up about the only regret during his playing career. Gambhir played a brilliant knock of 97 in the 2011 ODI World Cup final but he was dismissed before finishing the game and then captain MS Dhoni ended up scoring the winning runs against Sri Lanka. In a recent event, Gambhir said that his regret was that he could not stay at the crease and finish the game himself despite playing a good innings. He also said that given a chance, he would like to “turn back the clock” and score the last run in the match that holds a special place in Indian cricket history.

“I wish I had finished that game. It was my job to finish the game, rather than leaving someone to finish the game. If I had to turn back the clock, I would go back there and score the last run, irrespective of how many runs I scored,” Gambhir said at a ‘Rise To Leadership’ seminar.

The 42-year-old did not have any disappointment for not being able to captain India for a long run.

“I have always thought about performing for the fans, and that has been my thought since the last year of my training career. In the middle, I got this honour of captaining India for six games. I tried doing it to the best of my ability,” he said.

“Otherwise, I have no regrets whatsoever because my job was not to captain the series. My job was to make my country win, and whichever team I play for, make that team win,” he added.

Gambhir appeared in a virtual interview with the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee earlier this week and is widely perceived to be India’s next head coach after incumbent Rahul Dravid‘s tenure comes to an end following the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies.

However, Gambhir, who recently played a crucial role in KKR’s third title win in the IPL as team mentor, remained tight-lipped when he was asked about his prospects.

“I don’t see that far ahead. You are grilling me, asking me all tough questions,” he said.

“It is difficult to answer right now. All I can say is that I’m happy being here, just finished a brilliant journey (and) let’s enjoy that. I’m in a very happy space right now,” Gambhir said.

(With PTI inputs)

MS Dhoni relaxing in his farmhouse in Ranchi.© X (Twitter)