MS Dhoni by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

---

Player:

MS Dhoni

---

DateLine: 17th April 2009

 

Jharkhand was, with all due respects, an unlikely place to throw up the next superstar of world cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s arrival on the scene has changed how cricket is played in India and also how the team is looked upon abroad. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded.

 

In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs. He made an instant impact on the Test level too, pounding 148 at Faisalabad, in only his fifth Test. He was elevated to the vice-captaincy of the one-day squad for the tour of England and Ireland in 2007 and, soon after, was appointed captain of the Twenty20 squad for the World Championship in South Africa.

 

He was handed the reins of the one-day side in September 2007 after Rahul Dravid decided to step down. It didn't take too long for him to enhance his reputation, claiming India's first tri-series triumph in Australia. He captained Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, losing out to Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals in a tense final. As a stop-gap Test captain, he was credited with leading India to their biggest ever win in terms of runs (320), against Australia in Mohali. He was appointed as the Indian skipper after Kumble's retirement.