There are some things in cricket, that happen only once in a lifetime. India getting players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, and Yuvraj Singh, is certainly that occurrence. But perhaps, the rarest of the rare occasions was the advent of MS Dhoni into Indian cricket, which changed its landscape forever.
Not just with his batting and wicket-keeping, but his excellent leadership skills, make Dhoni the most revered cricketer, not just in India, but around the globe. It was way back in 2004, on this day (23rd December), that the world first witnessed Dhoni, in an ODI against Bangladesh at Chattogram.
Even though it was far from an impressive debut, as Dhoni was run out for naught, his best was yet to come. In the next 349 ODIs to follow, he scored 10773 runs at an average of over 50 and led India to the World Cup 2011 title, the T20 World Cup 2007 title, and the Champions Trophy win in 2013.
It wasn’t like he was a hit only in the ODIs, but was equally good in the Tests and T20Is as well. The most successful Indian skipper ever, Dhoni played 90 Tests, and scored 4876 runs, at an average of 38.09. In the T20Is, in 98 matches that he played, he scored 1617 runs at an average touch over 37.
Finally, after serving India for 15 long years, MS Dhoni hung up his boots in 2019, following the semi-final loss against New Zealand in the World Cup, four years back.
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