About MS Dhoni - Mahendra Singh Dhoni Profile

Full Name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar (now Jharkhand)
Current Age: 30 years 261 days
Major Teams: India, Asia XI, Bihar, Chennai Super Kings, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Playing Role: Wicketkeeper & Batsman
Batting Style: Right-hand bat
Bowling Style: Right-arm medium
Fielding Position: Wicketkeeper

Mahendra Singh Dhoni or 'Mahi' is the youngest & Succesful Captain of the India Cricket Team.

In 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. Today, Mahendra Singh Dhoni typifies savage batting and athletic wicket keeping on the cricket field, while off it, his rugged handsomeness, natural sense of style and easy smile have earned him a vast fan base, a large percentage of it female.

I feel  [cricketers from small towns] are tougher than players from metros. In Ranchi, there were no academies, good gyms, or high-profile coaches, so we had to learn cricket the hard way. But I never wanted to be anything but a sportsman", he says. The same determination is evident in his approach to batting. "Mind, strategy, and attitude are important. You can't let anything affect you during a match. You have to improve your own game to stay ahead in this world," is his dictum.

There's fire in that belly, and the world can't get enough of it! Like his role models Adam Gilchrist and Tendulkar, Mahi himself has become an inspiration for millions of young Indians. His message for them: "Never give up."

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.

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.

Here's Dhoni's Best performance Youtube Video: