Chennai Super Kings

Bihar

India A

Jharkhand

India

Rising Pune Supergiant

<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>MS Dhoni is counted among one of the most distinguished names in cricket. Before developing an interest in cricket, Dhoni used to play as a goalkeeper for DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir school football team. Witnessing his superb goalkeeping skills, coach Keshab Ranjan Banerjee selected him to keep wickets and play cricket for the school team.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During his teenage years, his wonderful wicket-keeping skills helped him to get picked as a wicket-keeper batter in the Commando Cricket Club. After doing wonders at club cricket, he played in the Vinoo Mankad trophy Under-16 Championship as well.</p>
<h3>MS Dhoni's Career Information:</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut:</strong> India vs Sri Lanka at MA Chidambaram Stadium, December 02-06, 2005<br><strong>ODI Debut: </strong>Bangladesh vs India at MA Aziz Stadium, December 23, 2004<br><strong>T20I Debut: </strong>South Africa vs India at The Wanderers Stadium, December 1, 2006</p>
<p><strong>Teams:</strong> India, Air India Blue, Asia XI, Bihar, Bradman XI, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), East Zone, East Zone Under-19s, Help for Heroes XI, India A, India Seniors, India Board President’s XI, International XI, Jharkhand, Jharkhand Under-19s, Rajasthan Cricket Association President’s XI, Rest of India, Rising Pune Supergiants, &amp; Sehwag XI</p>
<p>Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one of the most successful names in the history of cricket. The legendary cricketer achieved phenomenal records for India in his almost 15 years of career with dedication and diligence. With his batting, wicket-keeping, and captaincy, he served his national team in an efficient manner.&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Early Career:</h4>
<p>MS Dhoni was born to Pan Singh and Devaki Devi in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand). During his school days, Dhoni’s coach Keshab Ranjan Banerjee pulled him away from football and asked him to take up cricket. In his initial days, he built a reputation of demolishing bowling attacks with his ferocious batting style. Despite performing well at the state level, Dhoni couldn’t go to the next level as more A-lister cricketers were chosen ahead of him.&nbsp;</p>
<p>After facing a snub despite doing well, he took up the job of a ticket collector at the Kharagpur Railways Station in West Bengal. With this move, he also got a chance to join the Railways Ranji team. However, after a few months, Dhoni grabbed the attention of scouts who were tasked to organize a country-wide Training Research Development Wing from the Board of Control for Cricket in India to pick talented cricketers from financially backward states. With this development, he got selected to represent India A team that toured Kenya in 2004. In the series, he batted excellently and impressed everyone with his power-hitting might.</p>
<h4>International Debut:</h4>
<p>In December 2004, the selectors picked him in the ODI team for India’s tour of Bangladesh. However, his debut game didn’t go well as he got run out for a duck. Despite Dhoni’s average show against Bangladesh, he got a chance in the ODI series against Pakistan at home in April 2005. Playing the second match of the series in Visakhapatnam, he played a stunning knock of 148 runs off just 123 deliveries. With this innings, he cemented his place in the ODI team. Later, in October, Dhoni showed his power again as he played arguably the best ODI innings of his career, scoring 183* runs off 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Jaipur.</p>
<h4>Captaincy:</h4>
<p>In 2007, during India’s tour of England, <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/sachin-tendulkar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sachin Tendulkar</a></strong> was offered the role to lead India. However, instead of accepting the responsibility, Master Blaster recommended Dhoni’s name. In the inaugural edition of the 2007 T20 World Cup, the selectors gave him the opportunity to lead the side. Holding the captaincy mantle for the first time, he proved his leadership skills by winning the title.</p>
<p>Considering his scintillating performance as a skipper, he was appointed full-time captain of the Indian team in white-ball cricket. After showcasing his leadership mettle in the T20I format, Dhoni looked brilliant with his captaincy in the ODI format as well. In 2008, holding the reins of the team, Dhoni helped the team to clinch the tri-series in Australia with Sri Lanka being the third team.</p>
<p>After Anil Kumble’s retirement from all forms of cricket in November 2008, Dhoni became the captain of the team in all forms. Under his phenomenal leadership, India became the number 1 Test team in December 2009. In 2011, Dhoni got appreciated for his incredible batting and leadership skills as he contributed to the team’s <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cwc-cricket-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a></strong> triumph at home and joined the league of World Cup-winning captains.&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Lean Patch &amp; Redemption:</h4>
<p>After the famous World Cup victory, Dhoni’s captaincy came under scrutiny after humiliating overseas Test series losses in England and Australia. Following the Test series defeat in England, India also lost their title as the number 1 Test side in the world. In 2012, things got worse for Dhoni as the team lost to England at home by a 1-2 margin. Observing his dismal performance as a Test captain, his critics got a chance to raise fingers at him. In 2013, Dhoni replaced senior players with youngsters and revamped the side. Utilising the spectacular spirit of youngsters, Dhoni led the nation to its second ICC Champions Trophy title (India jointly shared the title in 2002 with hosts Sri Lanka).&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Extraordinary IPL Journey:</h4>
<p>In the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, the love story between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) began. The franchise grabbed him for an enormous sum of INR 6 crore. In the maiden season of the league, he led CSK to the final but lost to Rajasthan Royals (RR).<br>&nbsp;<br>Although RR won the title, Dhoni left an impact on the competition with his leadership talent. In 2010, the dashing wicket-keeper batter showcased his captaincy skills in the IPL as well. With the final match win against Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2010 competition, Dhoni started CSK’s dominance in the tournament. In 2011, his franchise defended its title successfully after routing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) comfortably in the final. So far, Captain Cool has bagged five <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPL </a></strong>trophies for his franchise with exceptional leadership and batting talent.</p>
<h4>Retirement:</h4>
<p>In the 2014-15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Dhoni brought the curtain down on his Test career after helping India drew the Boxing day Test in Melbourne. After the Test retirement, he captained the ODI side in the 2015 World Cup but couldn’t retain the trophy. On January 4, 2017, he handed the captaincy mantle to Virat Kohli after resigning as India’s white-ball skipper.</p>
<p>At the age of 37, he appeared in India’s 2019 World Cup squad which marked his last appearance in international cricket. During the tournament, he came under fierce criticism for his underwhelming strike rate against Afghanistan and England. On August 15, 2020, Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket after almost 15 years of his remarkable career.</p>
<h3>MS Dhoni's Personal Life:</h3>
<p>MS Dhoni is married to Sakshi Singh Rawat since 2010 and the couple has a daughter named Ziva Dhoni. Before tying the knot, Dhoni and Sakshi dated each other. He is also an avid supporter of the Indian Army and in July 2019, he spent a day with the parachute regiment in Ranchi. While spending time with soldiers, he also said that since childhood, he wanted to join the Army.&nbsp;</p>

MS Dhoni News: Check out the latest news and updates on MS Dhoni along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, and more on CricTracker.

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India Legends

Mumbai Indians

<h3>Introduction:</h3>
<p>Sachin Tendulkar is still regarded as the best cricketer of all time. During his career, the batting icon played some incredible cricket and set the standard high for future batters as well. On April 24, 1973, he was born in Dadar, Bombay (now Mumbai). The legendary cricketer came from a humble background as his father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a renowned Marathi novelist and poet, and his mother, Rajni, was an LIC agent in a foreign company. At the age of 11, he took up the sport and got recognition with his impactful unbroken 664-run stand with his friend and teammate Vinod Kambli in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school match against St. Xavier’s High School in 1988.&nbsp;</p>
<h3><b id="docs-internal-guid-faff95e4-7fff-6427-4e01-78d3821e60d4"><span>Sachin Tendulkar </span></b>Career Information</h3>
<p><strong>Test Debut</strong>: Pakistan vs India at National Stadium, November 15-20, 1989<br><strong>ODI Debut</strong>: Pakistan vs India at Jinnah Stadium, December 18, 1989<br><strong>T20I Debut</strong>: South Africa vs India at The Wanderers Stadium, December 1, 2006</p>
<h4>Early Domestic Career:</h4>
<p>In November 1987, a 14-year-old Tendulkar was selected to represent Bombay in the Ranji Trophy. However, that year, he didn’t get a chance to feature in the playing XI in any of the games. In December 1988, he made his debut playing a first-class game for Bombay against Gujarat at Wankhede Stadium. In his maiden domestic appearance, Tendulkar smashed an unbeaten 100 and became the youngest cricketer to score a ton on debut in first-class cricket.</p>
<h4>International Career:</h4>
<p>Tendulkar kicked off his international career against Pakistan in a Test match in Karachi in November 1989. Playing his debut match, Tendulkar batted valiantly despite facing blows to his body from Pakistan speedsters. With this appearance, he also became the youngest cricketer to make an international debut for India. Following the Test series, he also played the ODI series against the Men in Green.</p>
<p>During India’s tour of England in 1990, Tendulkar played a notable knock of 119 runs in the second Test match of the series in Manchester and became the second youngest batter to score a century in the longest format of the sport. In the 1991-92 India tour of Australia, he showed his brilliance with the bat again, becoming the leading run-scorer with a couple of centuries.</p>
<h4>Rise through the ranks:</h4>
<p>After crossing his 20s, Tendulkar’s career started thriving at a fast pace. During the New Zealand tour in 1994, he played as an opener for the first time in Auckland against the hosts and scored 82 runs off 49 deliveries. In the same year, he also scored his first ton against Australia in Colombo, Sri Lanka.</p>
<p>In the 1996 World Cup at home, he became the highest run-scorer with two tons and three half-centuries. Tendulkar grabbed attention again in Sharjah with his exquisite knock of 143 runs off 131 deliveries against Australia in the 1998 Coca-Cola Cup. Earlier, he looked brilliant against the Aussies in Tests at home becoming the highest-run scorer in the Border-Gavaskar trophy 1997-98. During the 1999 World Cup, his father Ramesh Tendulkar passed away and he returned to India to perform the last rites of his father. After missing the game against Zimbabwe, he joined the team against Kenya and scored 140 runs off 101 deliveries.</p>
<h4>Incredible 2003 World Cup:</h4>
<p>In the 2003 World Cup held in South Africa, Tendulkar looked spectacular with the bat scoring 673 runs in 11 matches. With his superb effort, the team ended up as runners-up in the competition, losing to Australia in the final at Johannesburg.</p>
<h4>2007 World Cup debacle and Comeback:</h4>
<p>In 2007, India endured a horrendous campaign in the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cwc-cricket-world-cup" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Cup</a></strong> in the West Indies. Under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, the Men in Blue got knocked out of the tournament after losing to Bangladesh and then Sri Lanka. The tournament went dismal for Tendulkar along with other senior players as well. Against the Bangla Boys and the Islanders, he struggled to pile up runs scoring only 7 and 0 respectively.</p>
<p>After India’s failure in the marquee event, Tendulkar gained his old form back. Against Ricky Ponting-led Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2007-08, he showcased his experience and became the highest run-getter, racking up 493 runs in four matches.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In 2009, he became the first batter to score 17,000 runs in One-Day Internationals. In the same game, he played one of the best ODI innings of his career against Australia in Hyderabad. Following the target of 351, Tendulkar stunned the Aussie bowlers with his 175 runs off just 141 deliveries. In the end, the Men in Blue lost the game, however, his spunky knock goes down as one of the Best ODI batting performance.</p>
<h4>Achieving the Dream &amp; Retirement:</h4>
<p>India hosted the 2011 World Cup along with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. As the tournament was conducted in the sub-continent conditions, India also grabbed the chances with both hands as <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-players/ms-dhoni" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MS Dhoni</a></strong> led his side to a World Cup victory after 28 years lifitng the cup at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. In the mind-boggling trophy win, the cricketing maestro contributed well becoming the second-leading run-scorer in the tournament following Sri Lanka’s Tilakaratne Dilshan.</p>
<h4>Spectacular IPL Career:</h4>
<p>Banking on Sachin’s experience and batting skills, Mumbai Indians signed him as their icon player and also appointed him to lead their side in the <strong><a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20/ipl-indian-premier-league/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indian Premier League (IPL)</a></strong>. In the initial two seasons, Tendulkar struggled as a batter and skipper. However, in the third instalment of the competition, MI reached the final of the tournament under his captaincy. Along with the leadership role, he looked fine with his bat as well by winning the Orange Cap.</p>
<p>In 2013, he appeared for the last time in the cash-rich league and wrapped up his career with 2334 runs in 78 matches at a strike rate of 119.82.</p>
<h4>Retirement:</h4>
<p>In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his ODI retirement after serving India’s ODI team for 23 years. The batting master ended his One-Day career piling up more than 18,000 runs with 49 centuries and 96 fifties in 463 contests. In November 2013, he put curtains on his career after playing his last Test match against the West Indies at his home ground Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. His memorable farewell speech brought tears to the faces of his supporters.</p>
<h3><b id="docs-internal-guid-faff95e4-7fff-6427-4e01-78d3821e60d4"><span>Sachin Tendulkar's </span></b>Personal Life:</h3>
<p>On May 24, 1995, Tendulkar married Anjali Mehta, who was a paediatrician by profession. Along with her, he has a daughter Sara and a son Arjun. In 2012, he became a member of the Rajya Sabha.</p>

Sachin Tendulkar News: Check out the latest news and updates on Sachin Tendulkar along with photos, videos, biography, career stats, and more on CricTracker.

MS Dhoni

India

Sachin Tendulkar

India

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