Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni took to instagram on Indipendence Day 2020 to announce his retirement from International cricket .
An 18-year-old Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season and started to work as a Travelling Ticket Examiner at the Kharagpur railway station.
He was then scouted when the BCCI started a country-wide Training Research Development Wing.
Dhoni, as a 22-year-old with long locks, made his international debut against Bangladesh at the Chittagong ODI in 2004.
Also read: The life and times of Mahendra Singh Dhoni
In 2007, he was made captain of India's Twenty20 side and led the team to victory at the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa.
The Ranchi-born cricketer is the only skipper to win all three major International Cricket Council trophies: ICC World T20 in 2007, ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
He is also the only player to captain in more than 50 matches in each of the three formats.
Dhoni has played 350 ODIs and scored 10,773 runs throughout his career. He has effected 444 dismissals in ODIs, 91 in Twenty20 internationals and 294 dismissals in Tests.
He has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Shri, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
Unlike his retirement from international cricket , Dhoni's retirement from Tests came in the form of a press release from the BCCI in 2014.
On the eve of his 37th birthday, he became the third Indian cricketer and first wicketkeeper to appear in 500 international matches.
The 39-year-old’s last outing in India colours was during the lost World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in 2019.
Fondly known as "Thala" in Tamil Nadu, Dhoni has been captaining the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League since 2008 except in 2016 when he captained newly formed Rising Pune Supergiant.
Dubbed 'captain cool', he is famous for the 'Helicopter Shot' which was taught to him by former Ranji teammate Santosh Lal.
Dhoni is married to Sakshi Singh Rawat and the couple has a daughter Ziva.
He was conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army in November 2011.
A biopic titled M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story was released on 30 September 2016 with actor Sushant Singh Rajput playing MSD.
Dhoni is known for his passion for motorcycles and has over a dozen of them besides 10 high-end cars.
