Born: July 7, 1981 in Ranchi.
Nickname : Mahi.
Made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2005, scoring 30 in the rain-hit match in Chennai.
Dhoni in action during the first cricket Test match (his debut) between India and Sri Lanka at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on December 6, 2005. Photo: S. Subramanium
He went on to play 90 Tests for India, amassing 4876 runs at a 38-plus average, hitting six centuries and 33 fifties. He also took 256 catches and contributed 38 stumpings.
In this Feb. 24, 2013 file picture, M.S. Dhoni reacts after scoring a double century against Australia at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.
Dhoni's highest test score of 224 came against Australia in February 2013.
The wicketkeeper-batsman made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in late 2004 and was run out for a first ball duck in the Chittagong match.
Dhoni has played 250 ODIs, scoring 8192 runs, averaging 52.85 with a strike rate in the vicinity of 90. He has hit nine centuries in this format to go with 56 fifties.
He has also played 50 Twenty20 Internationals, scoring 849 runs, averaging nearly 34 with a 116 strike rate.
Dhoni plays his trademark "helicopter" shot against Pakistan in Lahore in 2006.
Under his captaincy, India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and remained the number one test team for 18 months from December 2009.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his childhood friend Sakshi Singh Rawat during their marriage ceremony in Dehradun on July 5, 2010. Photo: PTI
He received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sports honour, in 2007.
India's skipper M.S.Dhoni, with the Twenty20 World Championship cricket trophy, following a media briefing in Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, Sept. 10, 2007. Photo: AP
Known for his penchant to seal a victory with a six, Dhoni's trademark "helicopter" shot has amused fans who have also hailed his unflappable temperament.
India's string of away test defeats remains a blot on his captaincy records, though, and the emergence of Virat Kohli was seen as an alternative.
Team India celebrates after winning the cricket World Cup final in grand style against Sri Lanka, under M.S. Dhoni's captaincy, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. Photo: K.R. Deepak
He surpassed retired great Sachin Tendulkar as the highest-earning Indian sportsman but remains a fiercely private person.
