Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the captain of the Indian cricket team in ODI's and 20-20. He was born on 7th July 1981 in Ranchi Jharkhand. It is certainly a change in the Indian minds that a player from such a small town is currently ruling the Indian team. Dhoni has made his mark not only on the Indian circuit but also internationally. He has developed a very good reputation as an aggressive and courageous captain. Dhoni is also the wicketkeeper and an attacking right handed middle order batsman.
Unusual Start
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Jharkhand. He did not have a cricketing background. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his school football team. He was then sent to play cricket at a local cricket club. It was on his performances in his local club that saw him get selected in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy as a wicketkeeper.
No Looking Back
Dhoni was immediately selected in the Bihar under-19 squad for the 1998-99 season. That was when he completed his 10th and focussed completely on cricket. Dhoni then made his Ranji Debut for Bihar in the year 1999-2000 as an 18-year-old. Consistent good performances saw him get selected for the India-A team in the 2003-04 season.He made an impressive performance against a zimbabwe-xi team that saw 7 catches and 4 stumpings in a single match. Dhoni made his international debut when he was selected against Bangladesh in 2003. An average series still got him selected for the tour against Pakistan. In only his 5th match Dhoni scored a fantastic 148 off only 123 deliveries and made the record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper.In 2005, dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik in tests after consistent batting performances in ODI's. Dhoni is also an icon player for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He is the most expensive player in the IPL.
Captaincy
It was in September 2007 that Indian selectors decided to send a brand new team to South Africa for the 20-20 world cup. The only relatively experienced man except for Yuvraj and Harbhajan in the squad was MS Dhoni. Dhoni was elected the captain for the 20-20 world cup. In only his first experience as a captain dhoni won the 20-20 world cup for India. Following dravid's resignation from the post of captain of ODI's, dhoni replaced Dravid to become the captain of the ODI's. In tests though India is currently captained by Anil Kumble.