Mahendra Singh Dhoni Biography – Age, Education, Personal Life, Career, Net Worth, Assets and Awards

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his Family

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, or MS Dhoni, is an Indian International Cricketer who has retired from International Cricket. MS Dhoni is the only Captain in the history of Cricket to win all the ICC trophies. The legendary cricketer celebrates his birthday on July 7. When he turned 40, fans and the cricket fraternity took to social media to wish Captain Cool on his birthday. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s father, Pan Singh, did not support him during his initial days as a cricketer. He worked in the junior management position of a government enterprise. He wanted Dhoni to progress in the field of academics. MS Dhoni’s mother’s name is Devaki Devi. Fans who watched his biopic would know Devaki always supported Dhoni in his journey. MS Dhoni has an elder brother. His name is Narendra Singh Dhoni. He is ten years older than Mahendra. Narendra is a politician. MS Dhoni has an elder sister named Jayanti Gupta. Jayanti played an integral role in her brother’s journey to the top. She always supported Dhoni and backed him in his career. 

Education 

Dhoni did his schooling at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Ranchi, Jharkhand and excelled in multiple sports such as badminton, football and Cricket. He played as a goalkeeper for his football team and played Cricket for a local club. 

Dhoni showed impressive wicket-keeping skills at the Commando Cricket Club during 1995-98 and was picked up for Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship for the 1997-98 session and played well. After completing High School, Dhoni focussed on Cricket. 

During 2001-2003, Dhoni was a TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) at Kharagpur Railway Station, under South Eastern Railway in West Bengal. 

Personal Life

Before marrying his schoolmate Sakshi Singh Rawat, Mahendra Singh Dhoni fell in love with Priyanka Jha, whom he met in his early 20s. In the year 2002, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was trying his best to get selected in the Indian team. The same year, his girlfriend died in an accident. Dhoni also dated South Indian actress Lakshmi Rai. Mahendra Singh Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat, his school friend from DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, on July 4, 2010. At their marriage, Sakshi was studying a hotel management course at Taj Bengal in Kolkata as a trainee. 

On February 6, 2015, the couple gave birth to a baby girl named Ziva. He was in Australia, and the 2015 Cricket World Cup was a week later. He didn’t travel back and quoted, ‘I am on national duty; other things can wait. 

Movie and Series

In 2016, a Bollywood movie based on the life of Mahendra Singh Dhoni was made. The story outlined his journey from his childhood to the 2011 Cricket World Cup, starring Sushant Singh Rajput in a lead role. And The movie was titled Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The Untold Story. 

On March 20, 2019, a web series titled ‘Roar of the Lion’ was released on Hotstar. It was based on his life, and the time he spent with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL (Indian Premier League). 

Career

In 1998, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was selected for the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team. Till 1998, he played for the school cricket team and club cricket. Whenever Dhoni hit a six in Sheesh Mahal tournament cricket matches, he was gifted Rs 50 by Deval Sahay, who selected him for CCL. With the help of his excellent performance, CCL moved to A division. Deval Sahay was impressed with his dedication and cricket skills and pushed for his selection in the Bihar team. For the 1999-2000 season, he got selected in the senior Bihar Ranji Team at 18. He was not selected for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) or the Rest of the India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy).

Bihar U-19 team advanced to finals but couldn’t make it. Later, he was selected for East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy. While the East Zone lost all the matches, Mahendra Singh Dhoni finished last. 

During 2002-2003, while playing in the Jharkhand Team for Ranji Trophy and Deodhar Trophy, Dhoni gained recognition for his lower-order contribution and hard-hitting batting style.

In the Duleep Trophy Finals, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was picked over International cricketer Deep Dasgupta to represent East Zone. Through TRDW (BCCI’s small-town talent-spotting initiative), Prakash Poddar (Captain of Bengal in the 1960s) spotted Dhoni, who sent a report to the National Cricket Academy. 

Dhoni was selected for India A team for a tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya. At Harare Sports Club, against Zimbabwe, Mahendra Singh Dhoni had seven catches and four stumpings in the match. In a tri-nation tournament with Kenya, India A and Pakistan A, Dhoni helped the Indian team chase their target of 223 runs with a half-century against the Pakistan team. He scored 362 runs in 6 innings with an average of 72.40. His excellent performance received the attention of the then Captain of the Indian Cricket Team– Sourav Ganguly, Ravi Shastri, etc. 

After India A team, Dhoni was selected in the ODI team for the Bangladesh tour in 2004/05. In his debut match, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was run out for the duck. Despite playing an average series against Bangladesh, Dhoni was picked for the ODI series against Pakistan. Dhoni scored 148 runs in 123 balls in the second match of the series and made a record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. 

Dhoni scored an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka in a winning cause. He played in the first two matches in the Sri Lankan Bilateral ODI series held between October-November 2005. He was promoted to No. 3 in the third ODI held at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. He received the Man of the Series award. In December 2015, Mahendra Singh Dhoni received a B-grade contract from the BCCI. 

India had disappointing tournaments– DLF Cup 2006-07, 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. In a series against Pakistan, Dhoni scored 72 runs off 46 balls in the third match, helping India lead the series 2-1. In the final match, Dhoni scored 77 runs off 56 balls, helping India win the series by 4-1. On April 20, 2006, he was ranked as the number one batsman in ICC ODI Rankings, sidelining Ricky Ponting. 

India crashed out of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni was out for a Duck in the matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Due to Dhoni’s poor performance in the 2007 World Cup, his house was vandalized by activists of JMM. After India exited from the World Cup in the first round, Dhoni’s family was provided police protection. 

Dhoni was named vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa and England. In June 2007, Dhoni received an A Grade contract from the BCCI. In September 2007, for the World Twenty20 matches, Dhoni was elected as the Captain of the Indian team. In September 2007, Mahendra Singh Dhoni shared a record with his idol Adam Gilchrist– most dismissals in an innings in ODI.

In 2009, during the series between India and Australia, Dhoni scored 124 runs off 107 balls in the second ODI and 71 runs off 95 balls in the third ODI. On September 30, 2009, Dhoni took his first wicket in international Cricket against West Indies in the Champions Trophy. In 2009, he topped the ICC ODI Batsman ranking. 

In 2011, Dhoni-led India to the finals to victory over Australia in the quarter-finals and Pakistan in the finals. Dhoni helped India win by chasing a target of 275 against Sri Lanka in the finals with Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh. Mehendra Singh Dhoni finished the match with a historical six with a score of 91*. He bagged Man of the Match for his outstanding performance in the 2011 Cricket World Cup. 

In 2012, after the World Cup win, Pakistan toured India for a bilateral series for the first time in five years. India lost the series by 1-2. 

In 2013, India won ICC Champions Trophy, and Dhoni became the first and the only Captain in the history of Cricket to claim all the ICC trophies. In the same year, he became the second India batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score 1,000 ODI runs against Australia. 

During 2013-14, India toured South Africa and New Zealand but lost both. In 2014, India won the ODI series in England by 3-1 and India by 2-1 against West Indies. 

During the 2015 Cricket World Cup, Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the first Indian Captain to win all group stage matches in such a tournament. Despite a great start in the 2015 Cricket World Cup, India lost the title to Australia’s eventual champions. 

In January 2017, Dhoni stepped down as the Captain of the Indian team in all the limited-over formats. In the ODI home series against England, he scored well and was named a wicketkeeper of the ‘Team of the Tournament’ at the 2017 Champions Trophy and ODI XI of the year by Cricbuzz. 

In August 2017, during the ODI against Sri Lanka, he became the first wicketkeeper to effect 100 stumpings. 

After his excellent performance in ODI against Sri Lanka, Mahendra Singh Dhoni replaced Dinesh Karthik as the Indian teams’ Test wicketkeeper. In his debut match that was marred by rain, Dhoni scored 30 runs.

India toured Pakistan during January–February 2006, and Dhoni scored his maiden century off 93 balls at Faisalabad. 

In 2006, he aggressively scored 69 runs in the first match on the West Indies tour while he improved his wicket-keeping skills and finished the series with 13 catches and four stumpings. 

In 2009, Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored two centuries against Sri Lanka, leading to India’s victory by 2-0. With this victory, India ranked No. 1 in test cricket for the first time in history. 

In the 2014-15 season, Dhoni played his last test series against Australia and captained the second and third test matches. In his last test match, Dhoni effected nine dismissals and broke Kumar Sangakkara’s record for stumpings with 134 in all the formats. Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from the Test format following the third test in Melbourne. 

In 2006, Dhoni was a part of India’s first-ever Twenty20 international match against South Africa. He was out for a duck in his debut match but effected two dismissals. 

On February 12, 2012, he made a 44 and led India to win their first-ever win over Australia. In 2014, ICC named him the Captain and wicketkeeper of the ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the T20 World Cup.

In 2007, Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led India to their first-ever World T20 match. He made his captaincy debut against Scotland, but the match was washed off. In September 2007, he led the victory over Pakistan in the finals. 

Dhoni played well against South Africa, Australia and West Indies but was criticized for his strike rate against Afghanistan and England. In the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was selected for the Indian team. In the semi-finals against New Zealand, Dhoni scored a half-century in the second innings but was run out at a very crucial stage. With his dismissal, India’s World Cup run ended. 

In the first season of IPL (Indian Premier League), Mahendra Singh Dhoni was contracted by the Chennai Super Kings for US$1.5 million, becoming the most expensive player in the first season auctions. Under his captaincy, the team won 2010, 2011 and 2018 IPL titles. The team also won 2010 and 2014 Champions League T20 titles.

In 2016, Chennai Super Kings was suspended for two years, and Rising Pune Supergiant contracted Mahendra Singh Dhoni to lead their team. However, the team finished at 7th place. In 2017, his team reached the finals but lost the title match to Mumbai Indians. 

In 2018, the ban on Chennai Super Kings was uplifted, and the team returned to play the IPL. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was again contracted by CSK and led the team to win the third IPL title. In 2019, he again captained for CSK, and the team emerged to be one of the strongest in the season. However, Mumbai Indians won the title. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Playing Style

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He is famously known for his lower-order attacking mode, which he later changed due to his responsibility as a captain. He is also one of the fastest-running men between the wickets. His Helicopter Shot technique is loved by all, which was taught to him by his fellow player childhood friend Santosh Lal. 

Apart from batting, he is widely appreciated for his wicket-keeping skills by several game experts. He is the quickest wicketkeeper when it comes to stumpings. He holds a world record for any wicketkeeper’s highest number of stumpings. He sometimes bowls as a medium-fast bowler for the Indian Cricket team. 

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: Cricket Records

Test Cricket

• In 2009, under Dhoni’s captaincy, India topped the ICC Test Cricket rankings for the first time. 
• He is the most celebrated Indian Test Captain with 27 Test wins. 
• He has 15 overseas Test defeats, the most by an Indian captain. 
• He became the first Indian wicketkeeper to complete 4,000 test runs.
• Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored 224 against Australia. This is the highest score by a wicketkeeper–Captain and the third-highest score by an Indian Captain. 
• His maiden century against Pakistan is the fastest, scored by an Indian wicketkeeper and fourth overall. 
• Dhoni completed 50 sixes as a captain. 
• With 294 dismissals in his entire career, he tops the all-time dismissals list by Indian wicketkeepers.
• He shares a record with most dismissals in an innings– 6 with Syed Kirmani. 
• He also has a record of 9 dismissals in a match by an Indian wicketkeeper. 

ODI Cricket

• Third and First Indian Captain to win 100 games. 
• Fourth Indian Cricketer to reach 10,000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly & Rahul Dravid. He is also the second wicketkeeper to reach this milestone. 
• With a career average of over 50, he is the first player to achieve 10,000 runs. 
• Among cricketers with more than 5,000 runs, he has the 5th highest batting average and the 2nd highest batting average among players with an aggregate of over 10,000 runs– 51.09. 
• With 4031 runs in his entire career, he scores the most runs in ODI history at number 6. 
• While batting at number 7, only cricketer to score centuries in ODI history– 2 centuries at number 7. 
• He has 82 Not Outs in ODIs. 
• He scored 183* against Sri Lanka– the highest score by a wicketkeeper. 
• He scored 113 against Pakistan– highest by a captain batting at number 7. 
• India’s highest eight-wicket partnership in ODI– Dhoni and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. 
• Most unbeaten innings and the highest average among batsmen in ODI run-chases. 
• He is the only cricketer to have played most ODI matches as a captain and wicketkeeper. 
• He holds the record for most dismissals in an innings and career by an Indian wicketkeeper– 6 and 432, respectively. 
• He has a record of doing most stumpings by a wicketkeeper in ODI history– 120.
• First Indian and Fourth wicketkeeper in the world to take 300 ODI catches. 

T20I Cricket

• He holds the record of most wins as a Captain– 41. 
• He played most matches as a captain and wicketkeeper– 72.
• He played most consecutive T20I innings without a duck– 84. 
• Dhoni played the most T20I innings– 76. 
• He holds the record of most dismissals as wicketkeeper in T20Is– 87. 
• He holds the record of most catches by a wicketkeeper in T20Is– 54. 
• He holds the record of most stumpings as a wicketkeeper in T20Is– 33.
• He holds the record of most catches as wicketkeeper in a T20I inning– 5.

Awards

• In 2018, he received India’s third-highest civilian award– Padma Bhushan. 
• In 2009, he received India’s fourth-highest civilian award– Padma Shri. 
• For 2007-2008, he received India’s highest honor for sports achievement– Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
• In 2008 2009, he was awarded the ICC ODI Player of the Year. 
• In 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, he was awarded the ICC Wolrd ODI XI. 
• In 2009, 2010 and 2013, he was awarded the ICC World Test XI. 
• In 2011, he was awarded Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year. 
• In 2006, he received the title of MTV Youth Icon of the Year. 
• In 2013, he received the LG People’s Choice Award. 
• In August 2011, he received an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University.

Net Worth

The most successful captain in the IPL, also known as Caption Cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has a total net worth of $113 million (846 Crore Rupees) as of 2022. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among the highest-paid sportsperson globally, with a net worth of approximately 113 million USD, which is 846 crores rupees in Indian currency and that too has been achieved by him in very few years. It has been observed that Mahendra Singh Dhoni has achieved a hike of 32% in his net worth over the past few years.

A majority of his income comes from endorsements of around 27 million USD and around 4 million USD per match-winning. Dhoni has also earned a whopping Rs. 30 crores from the movie based on his life.

MS Dhoni Assets:

Net worth is the difference between assets and liabilities that a person has. So, we need to briefly look at what assets are possessed by Mahi.

MS Dhoni House:

Mahi has a luxury home in Dehradun, India, which he bought in 2011 and is estimated at around 17.8 crores. Dhoni also owns multiple real estate properties.

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