India cricketer MS Dhoni is celebrating his 37th birthday today (July 7). Dhoni’s achievement as a captain and a wicketkeeper-batsman is surreal, to say the least.
Coming from the small town of Jharkhand, Dhoni hasn’t only done wonders for Indian cricket but for the game globally. He is the only captain in the history of cricket to have won all the three ICC trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Having made his international debut in December 2004, Dhoni has represented India in 318 ODIs and 92 T20Is. While the Ranchi dazzler has amassed 9967 ODI runs at an incredible average of 51.37 with 10 tons and 67 fifties, he has aggregated 1487 T20I runs at 37.17 batting in the lower middle order. Dhoni has also played 90 Test matches, notching up 4876 runs at 38.09 with 6 hundreds and 33 fifties.
As a wicketkeeper, Dhoni has taken 256 catches in Tests besides affecting 38 stumpings. Moreover, he has inflicted 404 dismissals (297 catches and 107 stumpings) in ODI cricket and 82 dismissals (49 catches and 33 stumpings) in T20I cricket.
Dhoni has been the recipient of many awards, including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2007, the Padma Shri award (India's fourth highest civilian honour) in 2009 and the Padma Bhushan (India's third highest civilian honour) in 2018. He was named as the captain of the ICC World Test XI in 2009, 2010 and 2013 and has also been selected a record 8 times in ICC World ODI XI teams, 5 times as captain.
As the revered cricketer entered in the 38th season of his life, wishes poured in for him from the cricketing fraternity. From the teammates to the opponents, a lot of former and current cricketers made the occasion special for Dhoni with their heartfelt messages on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Here are some of the tweets:
Wishing you a very happy birthday @msdhoni .May you continue to entertain ,inspire and provide joy.#HappyBirthdayMSDhoni pic.twitter.com/z1DbTUi1iS
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) July 6, 2018
2 World Cups, 1 Champions Trophy, 3 IPL Titles and the list just goes on. Happy Birthday to one of India's greatest captains, @msdhoni! #HappyBirthdayMSDhoni pic.twitter.com/4t3fNcFiuE
— R P Singh (@rpsingh) July 6, 2018
Happy Birthday to an amazing human being.. I'm glad and lucky to know you... May this year brings loads of happiness for you and your loved ones... Happy Birthday again Brother @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/I7BjuDBiEX
— Mohammad Nabi (@MohammadNabi007) July 6, 2018
Happy Birthday to a Cricket Yogi and one of the most inspirational leaders across the world, MS Dhoni .May you remain blessed and loved. #HappyBirthdayMsDhoni pic.twitter.com/ie68qVadqF
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 7, 2018
Happy birthday @msdhoni bhai ???????? Wish u hav a coolest one nd May God bless u nd ur family members always !! Hav a great day ahead ???? #Legend pic.twitter.com/VmniGdW7VY
— MANOJ TIWARY (@tiwarymanoj) July 7, 2018
Many happy returns of the day @msdhoni bhai. May you continue to inspire the nation. God bless! #HappyBirthdayMSD
— Prragyan Ojha (@pragyanojha) July 7, 2018
Happy birthday Mahi bhai @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/PAQOEQ7zof
— karn sharma (@sharmakarn03) July 7, 2018
If birthdays are to reflect and acknowledge one's success and achievements, Dhoni has ???? loads of them. He's above the rest because he has managed to stay grounded even after having achieved so much in sport #HappyBirthdayMSDhoni pic.twitter.com/qH8w7uujN0
— Hemang Badani (@hemangkbadani) July 7, 2018
Wishing @msdhoni a very Happy birthday and a great year ahead!
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) July 7, 2018
Do you know how many matches #Dhoni has won for India as a captain?#HappyBirthdayMSDhoni #Rawalpindiexpress