MS Dhoni turns 36: 36 facts you must know about one of India's greatest captains

Mahendra Singh Dhoni remains to be the only captain in world cricket to have won all ICC trophies as a skipper.

New Delhi: Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni turns 36 today. The Ranchi-born cricketer, who became the skipper of the Indian team in 2007, has brought several laurels for the Indian team under his captaincy.

The highlight of Dhoni's career has been his ice cool temperament under pressure scenarios.

Here are some interesting facts you must know about the swashbuckling right-hander:

1) Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Jharkhand on 7 July 1981.

2) Dhoni studied at the DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir in Ranchi and was active in sports from a very young age.

3) Before becoming a cricketer, Dhoni was very fond of football and was a goalkeeper. Dhoni even played as a goalkeeper for his school’s football team, and was also good at playing badminton.

4) His childhood coach Keshav Banerjee urged him to try his hand at cricket and wicketkeeping.

5) Dhoni was a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station from 2001 to 2003, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore.

6) Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season as an eighteen-year-old.

7) Dhoni made his ODI debut vs Bangladesh at Chittagong on December 23, 2004. He was out for a first-ball duck in that match.

8) It took Dhoni just four ODIs to hit his first ODI ton. Batting at number three, Dhoni smashed 148 runs off 123 balls against Pakistan at Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

9) Dhoni was appointed as India's limited-overs skipper in 2007 after Rahul Dravid stepped down as the captain.

10) Under Dhoni's captaincy, India have won ICC World Twenty20 (2007), ICC Champions trophy (2013) as well as ICC World Cup (2011).

11) Much to the surprise of the cricket fraternity, Dhoni announced sudden retirement from Test cricket in December 2014 after playing the third match against Australia.

12) Dhoni married Sakshi in a hush-hush ceremony on July 4, 2010. The two are said to have first met in Kolkata in November 2007. Back then, India were slated to play Pakistan at the Eden Gardens.

13) The couple was blessed with a daughter in 2015, whom they named Ziva.

14) In Tests, Dhoni became the most successful Indian captain with 27 Test wins, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly's record of 21 victories.

15) Dhoni's highest score in ODIs is 183*, which came against Sri Lanka in his 22nd ODI match. Dhoni blasted those runs off just 145 balls.

16) Dhoni was conferred with the honorary rank of Lt Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army in November 2011. Time and again, he has said that he would like to play some role in the Army in the future.

17) Dhoni is only the second Indian after Kapil Dev to receive an honorary rank.

18) Dhoni is the only captain in ODIs to score a ton while batting at number 7. He did it against Pakistan in December 2012.

19) MS Dhoni has picked one international wicket in all formats – of West Indies batsman Travis Dowlin.

20) MS Dhoni's biopic 'MS Dhoni - The Untold Story', starring Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was released in 2016.

21) Rather in 2010, Dhoni acted in David Dhawan's 'Hook Ya Crook'. But, unfortunately the film, starring John Abraham, was shelved and we missed our chance to see Dhoni on the big screen.

22) Dhoni stepped down as India's limited-overs skipper in January earlier this year.

23) Dhoni led India to 163 wins in one-day internationals.

24) Despite not being a reputed Test batsman, only Adam Gilchrist and Mark Boucher have scored more runs than Dhoni in the traditional format.

25) His 224 against Australia is 3rd highest individual score by a wicket-keeper in tests.

26) In the 90 Tests that he played, Dhoni owns the record for the maximum number of dismissals ahead of Syed Kirmani.

27) MS Dhoni is only four matches short of playing 300 ODIs for the Men in Blue.

28) Dhoni has hit the most international sixes as captain (204).

29) Overall he has 322 sixes in his kitty so far, making him fifth on the list led by former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (476).

30) In the first edition of Indian Premier League, Dhoni was bought for a whopping 1.5 Million USD by Chennai Super Kings which made him the costliest buy in inaugural season.

31) Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to two titles in the Indian Premier League (2010 and 2011) and Champions League Twenty20 (2010 and 2014).

32) Dhoni is known for his passion for motorcycles and currently owns over 20 bikes.

33) Dhoni has two pet dogs - Zarah and Sam – who play a major role in his personal life. Zarah is a Labrador and Sam an Alsatian.

34) While Dhoni's Helicopter Shot has given him huge fame across the world, not many know that he learned it from his friend Santosh Lal.

35) The Deori Mandir on National Highway 33 in Ranchi is a place which is frequently visited by Dhoni.

36) Dhoni has partnered with Telugu filmstar Akkineni Nagarjuna in buying a Supersport World Championship team and named it Mahi Racing Team India.