Dhoni Information

There was a time when the very idea of an Indian cricketer rivalling Sachin Tendulkar in the popularity stakes bordered on the preposterous. But the advent of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his meteoric rise through the ranks did just that, with a new generation transfixed by a small-town boy whose personality and background couldn't have been more different from that of Tendulkar.

Few had heard of him as a 23-year-old when he savaged a Pakistan A side in Nairobi. There had been the odd excited whispers from those who watched his big-hitting exploits in Kolkata club cricket, but hardly anyone expected that he would be playing for India within months of that Kenyan safari. In his fifth game, he lashed a matchwinning 148 against Pakistan and later in the year, he clubbed 183 against Sri Lanka. Such was the impact of his strokeplay that a far-from-polished wicketkeeping technique was almost ignored as he was fast-tracked into the Test side.

Within two years of that, he was leading an inexperienced team to glory in the inaugural World Twenty20, and winning the last tri-series to be held in Australia. When Anil Kumble handed over the Test reins in 2008, he celebrated with a home victory against Australia. And in 2011 came the biggest triumph of all, the World Cup, on the back of an exceptional batting performance in the final and bold leadership throughout from Dhoni. Apart from wins in world tournaments, his leadership also oversaw India's rise to the pinnacle of the Test ladder, and a massively successful three years for the Chennai Super Kings franchise that did well in each of the first three seasons of the IPL before winning the event in 2010, and going a step further to claim the Champions League in the same year. However, the fickle nature of fame and glory hit him hard laster that year, when India lost seven consecutive Tests overseas, to England and Australia, bringing into sharp focus his performance as batsman and captain.

Off the field, his Samson mane and fondness for fast bikes marked him down as Mr Cool, and though the haircut eventually became short-back-and-sides, the cool quotient never wavered. He was seldom flustered on the field either, batting and leading the side with poise and assuredness. Not for him the sustained harangue or the bloody oath.

He fine-tuned his game too, becoming a safe keeper, but his batting, while completed suited to the shorter forms of the game, was exposed in Tests in overseas conditions. The scythe over midwicket, even to yorker-length deliveries, drove bowlers to distraction in the 50-over game, but his lack of footwork and defensive technique meant Test runs in England and Australia were hard to find.

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	67	106	12	3509	148	37.32	5852	59.96	5	24	378	61	192	28
ODIs	196	175	48	6497	183*	51.15	7339	88.52	7	43	501	133	187	61
T20Is	30	29	10	549	48*	28.89	499	110.02	0	0	30	17	13	5
First-class	108	172	15	5671	148	36.12			8	38			300	47
List A	253	228	59	8500	183*	50.29			13	54			257	76
Twenty20	104	94	31	2234	73*	35.46	1720	129.88	0	9	163	82	42	28

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	67	5	78	58	0	-	-	-	4.46	-	0	0	0
ODIs	196	1	12	14	1	1/14	1/14	14.00	7.00	12.0	0	0	0
T20Is	30	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
First-class	108		108	78	0	-	-	-	4.33	-	0	0	0
List A	253		39	36	2	1/14	1/14	18.00	5.53	19.5	0	0	0
Twenty20	104	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

He remains the advertiser's dream and a poster boy for modern-day India, but off the field, Dhoni has seldom courted attention or publicity. Even his wedding was a low-key family affair, and he remains content to make the big statements out on the field.