Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni turned 42 on July 7, 2023. With his performances and composure in big matches both as a captain and batter, he has won India all three major ICC white-ball cricket trophies, making him one of the most successful captains in cricket history.
Dhoni’s strongest format is the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*. He is India’s fifth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs).
He is also the 11th most successful ODI batter of all time. The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more interesting.
He led India in 200 ODI matches, winning 110, losing 74. Five matches were tied while 11 failed to produce a result. He has a winning percentage of 55. Dhoni has won ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013 for India as a skipper.
With 229 sixes, he is the fifth-highest six-hitter of all time and also has the second-highest sixes by an Indian next to Rohit Sharma (275 sixes). He is also the sixth-fastest player to reach 10,000 ODI runs, doing so in 273 innings.
‘Mahi Bhai’, as he is known to the fans, played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56.
He led India in 72 T20Is, winning 41, losing 28, one being tied and two failing to produce a result. His winning percentage is 56.94. He won India the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup title in 2007.
Here’s a look at Dhoni’s performances in ICC events:
2007 Cricket World Cup
India headed into the 2007 WC as favourites due to their batting line-up, which also included a young Dhoni who had taken the Indian public by storm with his powerful hitting. Many fans wanted to have a long hairdo like him and every kid or aspiring cricketer wanted that bat which was Dhoni’s weapon.
But Dhoni was disappointed in his first WC, scoring only 29 runs in three matches at an average below 10, with the best score of 29. He also got out for two ducks.
2011 Cricket World Cup
Dhoni made up for the disappointment of the 2007 WC with his performances in the 2011 WC. In the tournament, he scored 241 runs in eight innings at an average of 48.20. He saved his best for the final against Sri Lanka, scoring 91* in 79 balls, which also included the winning six that is imprinted into the minds of millions forever.
2015 Cricket World Cup
India finished as semifinalists in the next World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. He had a solid campaign with the bat, scoring 237 runs in six innings at an average of 59.25, with two half-centuries and best score of 85*.
2019 Cricket World Cup
He was now playing under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. In nine matches, he scored 273 runs at an average of 45.50 and a strike rate of over 87, which also included two half-centuries, an unbeaten 56* against West Indies and a fighting 50 against New Zealand in semis.
ICC T20 World Cup events
2007 T20 World Cup
In his first tournament as a captain, Dhoni had a good impact with the bat. He scored 154 runs in six innings at an average of 30.80 and a strike rate of over 128. His best score was 45. In the finals, he could score only six runs against Pakistan, but more than made up for his masterful captaincy during the run-chase.
2009 T20 World Cup
India could not defend their title in 2009. Dhoni also looked somewhat off-colour, scoring only 86 runs in five innings at an average of 21.50. His best score was 30.
2010 T20 World Cup
Even the next T20 WC was underwhelming for India, but Dhoni looked in good touch. In five innings, he scored 85 runs at an average of 42.50 and a strike rate of almost 150. His best score was 29 and was mostly performing small, but valuable cameos for his team.
2012 T20 World Cup
India’s wait for the T20 WC title continued in 2012. Dhoni also had an average tournament, scoring 65 runs in four innings at an average of 32.50, with best score of 23*.
2014 T20 World Cup
India ended as runners-up in the 2014 edition, losing to Sri Lanka. In four matches, Dhoni scored 50 runs at an average of 50. His best score was 24 and he ended innings unbeaten on three occasions.
2016 T20 World Cup
India ended the tournament as semifinalists, losing to eventual champions West Indies. Dhoni’s pattern of delivering short cameos continued with this tournament, scoring 89 runs in five innings at an average of 89.00 and a strike rate of 127-plus. His best score was 30.
ICC Champions Trophy events
2006 Champions Trophy
India exited the 2006 Champions Trophy tournament in Group stages. He scored 86 runs in three matches at an average of 28.67, with one half-century. His best score was 51.
2009 Champions Trophy
India had a lacklustre Champions Trophy campaign as they failed to reach the semis. Dhoni also played one inning, in which he scored three runs.
2013 Champions Trophy
The 2013 event was the last ICC tournament won by India. Dhoni played only two innings in it, scoring 27 runs with knocks of 27 and 0 in two innings.
2017 Champions Trophy
India ended the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 as runners-up, losing to arch-rivals Pakistan. Dhoni played just two innings, scoring 67 runs with the best score of 63.
Overall, Dhoni has scored 780 runs in 29 ICC CWC matches at an average of 43.33 in 25 innings. He has the best score of 91*. He has scored five half-centuries. His runs have come at a strike rate of almost 90.
In 33 ICC T20 World Cup matches, Dhoni has scored 529 runs at an average of 35.26 and a strike rate of 123.88. His best score is 45.
Dhoni has scored 183 runs in eight ICC Champions Trophy innings at an average of 22.87. His best score is 63 and he has scored two half-centuries in the tournament.
Overall in all ICC tournaments combined, Dhoni has scored 1,492 runs in 62 innings at an average of 36.39. He has no centuries in ICC tournaments, but he has scored seven half-centuries.
Coming to his long format career, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests.
As a captain, he led India in 60 Test matches, out of which they won 27 matches, lost 18 and drew 15. With a win percentage of 45.00, he is one of India’s most successful skippers across all eras. He led Team India to the number one ranking in ICC Test Rankings. He is also the only Indian skipper to whitewash Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, doing so in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 series.
With the bat, he is the fifth-highest run-getter for India across all formats. In 538 matches, he scored 17,266 runs at an average of 44.96 and a strike rate of over 79. He has scored 16 centuries and 108 fifties across all formats, with the best score of 224.
He has led a team in most matches as a captain in the sport’s history. He has led India in 332 matches across all formats, out of which he has won 178, lost 120, six were tied and 15 ended in a draw. His win percentage is 53.61.
Coming to wicketkeeping, he has the third-highest number of dismissals, with a total of 829, behind Australia’s Adam Gilchrist (905) and South Africa’s Mark Boucher (998). With 634 catches, he has the third-highest number of catches in international cricket history. His great reflexes also earned him a total of 195 stumpings, the highest by a keeper in cricket history.
Besides guiding India to ICC titles, he has also guided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to franchise glory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League T20. He has led CSK to five IPL titles in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023. Dhoni has also led CSK to two CLT20 titles in 2010 and 2014. With this, he is not only the most successful captain in franchise cricket as well, but cricket in general.
Dhoni has played 250 IPL matches, mostly for CSK, other than a stint with Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 to 2017. In these matches, he has scored 5,082 runs at an average of 38.79. He has also scored 24 half-centuries in the tournament. He also has 142 catches and 42 stumping.
With these astonishing statistics as a middle-order batter and his success as a captain, it is unlikely that India and world cricket, in general, will witness a phenomenon like ‘Captain Cool’ again.
