Former Indian captain MS Dhoni celebrates his 40th birthday today. From a young boy from Ranchi to becoming the most successful captain in the world, what a journey this has been. A long hair guy with a bright smile on his face enter the international arena in 2004 and for the next 15 years, he entertained all the fans over the world with his big-hitting abilities. One of the best players from India to have graced the 22 yards of a cricket field. As Captain Cool turns 40, here’s a look at a few incredible records of MS Dhoni that may never be broken.
Winner of all three ICC trophies (limited-overs) as a captain
Dhoni is the only captain in history to win all three ICC trophies. He started his captaincy journey in the T20 World Cup 2007, where he led a young side in the absence of experienced players. Even at the start of his captaincy career, Dhoni was not afraid of taking risks. And Joginder Sharma’s over in the finals of T20 World Cup 2007 is one of the best examples.
Four years later, in the finals of the 2011 World Cup, Dhoni promoted himself up the order and scored an unbeaten 91 off 79 against Sri Lanka, and India lifted the World Cup after 28 years. Then in 2013, Dhoni led India to a Champions Trophy title. At one stage, it looked like England is going to comfortably win the game but Ishant Sharma’s 18th over shifted the whole momentum towards India. Dhoni created history by becoming the first captain to win all three ICC trophies.
Most matches as a captain in international cricket
Dhoni-led India in 332 international matches. He broke Ricky Ponting’s record of 324 matches as international captain in 2016. Apart from three ICC trophies, under Dhoni’s Captaincy, India has won CB series 2007-08, number one in the Test rankings for the first time in 2009, Asia Cup win.
The next current player on the list is Virat Kohli with 201 matches as international captain. In the present era, most of the teams are routing for split captaincy formula, so this record of Dhoni is unlikely to be broken.
Captain in six T20 World Cups
Dhoni has captained India in six T20 World Cups – 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. He took India to the finals in 2014 where they lost to Srilanka; Semis in 2016, where they lost to T20 World Cup defending champions WestIndies.
MS Dhoni still holds the record for most matches as a captain in T20Is. From 2007-2016, he won 41 and lost 28 matches. With lots of cricket happening around the world, most of the teams looking for Spilt captaincy, and captaincy career not lasting too long in the present era, it seems very difficult that any player can break this record.
Highest individual score by an Indian wicket-keeper
MS Dhoni is one of the most successful Wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. He has 10,773 runs in 350 ODIs, 4876 runs in 90 Tests, 1617 runs in 98 T20Is under his belt. Dhoni is mostly known for his finishing skills but he has also played many marathon innings in his international career. He still holds the record of scoring the highest individual score for an Indian wicketkeeper in both ODIs (183 against Sri Lanka) and Tests (224 against Australia).
Most stumpings in international cricket
Not only Dhoni has world records as a batsman and captain but he has achieved many milestones as a wicketkeeper too. His lightning-quick glove has impressed each and everyone all over the world. In 538 international matches, he has astounding 195 stumpings. Kumar Sangakkara is next on the list with 139. This record is impossible to break as currently very few Wicket keepers play all three formats.