MS Dhoni turned 39: Top 10 interesting facts about the CSK captain's life and career

Former India cricket captain MS Dhoni celebrated his 39th birthday on Tuesday. The former India captain is one of the greatest captains to have graced the sport. MS Dhoni is known for his cool and calm demeanour on the field, which is also cited as one of the reasons behind his success.

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MS Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket who has won all the three ICC events (T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup & Champions Trophy) as captain. The veteran stumper's cricketing journey is an example of how one can achieve a lot with sheer grit and determination irrespective of their background. As MS Dhoni turned, let's take a look at top 10 interesting facts about the CSK captain.

1. MS Dhoni's first love wasn't cricket

Before taking up cricket full-time, MS Dhoni excelled in football. The CSK captain was a brilliant goalkeeper and his skills in football caught the attention of his childhood coach Keshav Banerjee, who urged him to try his hand at cricket and wicketkeeping. This was also shown in the 2016 Dhoni biopic which starred the late Sushant Singh Rajput. However, his love for football continues till date as he is the co-owner for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC.

2. MS Dhoni's first job

Dhoni was a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station from 2001 to 2003, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore. However, he could not juggle with cricket and work for long and gave up the job to focus solely on cricket.

3. MS Dhoni's favourite food

The CSK captain is a big foodie. His favourite dishes are Butter Chicken and Chicken Biryani, something which he has also revealed on his Twitter bio and he also enjoys hot chocolate fudge.

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4. MS Dhoni's favourite singer

The 39-year-old is an ardent listener of retro songs. MS Dhoni has mentioned on several occasions that he is a massive Kishore Kumar fan. One of his favourites is the classic and meaningful Main Pal Do Pal Ka Shaayar Hoon, which he even sung once in an interactive event with fans last year.

5. MS Dhoni's love for bikes

It is no secret that Dhoni is extremely passionate about bikes. His love for bikes started from his teenage and he now has an amazing collection of bikes ranging from vintage bikes to the modern ones. In the past, late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who played the reel role of MS Dhoni in his biopic, had revealed that the MS Dhoni bikes collection count was at 74 with the likes of the Ducati 1098, Kawasaki Ninja ZX14R, Harley Davidson Fatboy and the Yamaha YZF600 Thundercat in his possession.

6. The ICC treble

Dhoni is the only captain in world cricket to win all three ICC trophies (T20 World Cup 2007, Cricket World Cup 2011 and Champions Trophy 2013).

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7. Highest ODI score by a wicketkeeper-batsman

Dhoni scored an unbeaten 183 against Sri Lanka in Jaipur in 2005, which is the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODI cricket. The CSK skipper struck 15 fours and five sixes while facing 145 deliveries in a successful chase of 299.

8. Highest Test score by an Indian wicket-keeper

MS Dhoni's 224 against Australia in the Chennai Test in 2013 is the second-highest score by an Indian captain. While he was on his way to score 224, Dhoni registered the highest Test score by an Indian wicketkeeper when he was on 193. He surpassed Budhi Kunderan (192), who was the holder of the record previously.

9. Most stumpings in international cricket

Dhoni is known to be the best and the fastest wicket-keeper in the game. The CSK captain has affected a record 195 stumpings in 538 matches across formats. He is followed by Kumar Sangakkara (139) at second and Romesh Kaluwitharana (101) at third.

10. Most IPL final appearances

MS Dhoni is the only cricketer to feature in eight IPL finals. The former India captain has won the tournament thrice with CSK in 2010, 2011 and 2018. He is also the only captain to defend the title.

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IMAGE COURTESY: TWITTER/PROSHILLONG