Happy Birthday MS Dhoni — 5 reasons why MSD is regarded as one of cricket’s greatest-ever captain
Former India cricket captain MS Dhoni celebrates his birthday today. Despite quitting international cricket nearly four years ago, Dhoni’s popularity remains intact. Well into his 40s, Dhoni is as popular as Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Dhoni refuses to stop as he continues to play in the IPL for Chennai Super Kings. Dhoni is revered for his captaincy, wicketkeeping skills, art of run chase and man-management. As MSD has turns 43, here are 7 reasons why Dhoni is regarded as one of the greatest leaders in the world of cricket.
Under MS Dhoni, India became an all-conquering team in all three formats of cricket. Dhoni first led India to win the inaugural ICC World T20 (T20 World Cup) in 2007. This was followed by India becoming the no.1 ranked team in Test cricket in 2009. India held that position for 18 months. India then became the ODI World Champions in 2011 under Dhoni’s leadership. As a captain, MS Dhoni won the ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. He followed that by winning the ODI World Cup in 2011 and then clinched the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. By doing so he became the first captain to win all three ICC Trophies.
MS Dhoni is the joint-most successful captain in the history of the Indian Premier League. Both Dhoni and Rohit Sharma have won the IPL trophy as the captain five times each.
MSD’s stunning record in the IPL as a captain is clear from the fact that he led Chennai Super Kings to ten finals in their first 14 IPL seasons. Dhoni holds the record of leading an IPL team for most matches and also enjoys the record of most wins as a skipper of a IPL team. Dhoni has captained 226 times in the IPL and has won 133 matches.
MS Dhoni holds the record of being the captain of who has kept wickets the most times in Test cricket. A wicketkeeper captain Dhoni led India 60 times in Test cricket. In this regard Dhoni is miles ahead of second-placed Mushfiqur Rahim, who as a wicketkeeper captain, led Bangladesh in only 28 Test matches.
