Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni born 7 July 1981 in Ranchi, Bihar is an Indian cricketer and the current captain of the Indian team. Initially recognized as an extravagantly flamboyant and destructive batsman, Dhoni has come to be regarded as one of the coolest heads to captain the Indian ODI side. Under his captaincy, India won the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, CB Series of 2007-08 and the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2008 in which they beat Australia 2-0. He also lead the team to their first ever bilateral ODI series wins in Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Dhoni has also been the recipient of many awards including the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 (the first Indian player to achieve this feat), the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour in 2009. Currently, Dhoni is the highest ranked ODI batsmen on the ICC Rankings List.
Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali,(now the school is known as JVM , Shyamli,Ranchi) Ranchi,Jharkahnd where he initially excelled in badminton and football and was selected at district and club level in these sports. Dhoni was a goalkeeper for his football team and was sent to play cricket for a local cricket club by his football coach. Though he had not played cricket, Dhoni impressed with his wicket-keeping skills and became the regular wicketkeeper at the Commando cricket club (1995 - 1998). Based on his performance at club cricket, he was picked for the 1997/98 season Vinoo Mankad Trophy Under-16 Championship and he performed well. Dhoni focused on cricket after his 10th standard.
Dhoni was nominated as the vice-captain of the ODI team for the series against South Africa in Ireland and the subsequent India-England 7-match ODI series. Dhoni, who received a 'B' grade contract in December 2005, was awarded an 'A' grade contract in June 2007. And also he was elected as captain of Indian Twenty-20 Cricket Team for the World Twenty20 in September 2007. On 2 September 2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni equalled his idol Adam Gilchrist's international record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching 5 English players and stumping one. He led India to the ICC World Twenty 20 trophy in South Africa with a victory over arch rivals Pakistan in an intensely fought final on 24 September 2007, and became the second Indian captain to have won a World cup in any form of cricket, after Kapil Dev.
Awards and Recognition
Padma Shri
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award-2008
ICC ODI Player of the Year 2008 Award
Dhoni was selected for the ICC World ODI Team of the Year 2008
MTV Youth Icon of the Year for 2006
Endorsements
MS Dhoni signed with Kolkata-based celebrity management company Gameplan Sports in April 2005. As of March 2007, Dhoni is reputed to have 17 endorsements.
2006: Mysore Sandal Soap, Videocon, Reliance Communications, Reliance Energy, Orient PSPO Fan, Bharat Petroleum, Titan Sonata, Brylcreem, NDTV, GE Money.
2007: Siyaram.
2008: Fashion at Big Bazaar, Maha Choco, Boost (health food)
2009: Dabur Honey, Kolkata Fashion Week.
