Legendary India skipper MS Dhoni is among the 16 distinguished individuals from Jharkhand who have been invited to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on January 22.

According to a PTI report, senior RSS functionary Dhananjay Singh handed over the invitation to MS Dhoni at his residence in Ranchi on Monday (January 15).

"We handed over the invitation card to him (Dhoni) on behalf of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22," Singh told PTI.

He also added that Dhoni and his family members expressed their happiness after receiving the invitation.

"As many as 16 distinguished personalities including senior BJP leader and Padma Bhusan Karia Munda, Padma Shri Mukund Nayak, Padma Shri archer Deepika Kumari, AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto have been invited for the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya," he said.

Dhoni has become the latest cricketer to be invited to the Ram temple consecration ceremony after the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

Numerous celebrities from various spheres of life are expected to attend the ceremony in Ayodhya. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the event.

Talking about Dhoni, he will return to captain Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 edition of IPL. He underwent knee surgery soon after leading CSK to a record-equalling fifth IPL title last year and has made a good recovery so far.

The upcoming IPL 2024 could well be Dhoni's last season in professional cricket and he will look to sign off on a high.

(With PTI inputs)