Mahendra Singh Dhoni Wiki, Age, Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an Indian Cricketer. Under the captaincy of him, India won the T20 World Cup 2007, World Cup 2011, and Champions Trophy 2013. He is the man who made India proud of winning several trophies. He is also called by names such as MSD, MS, Captain Cool, and Mahi. He is considered the best captain ever in the history of Indian Cricket. On 15 August 2020, he took retirement from international cricket.

Wiki/Biography

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in a middle-class Rajput family on 7 July 1981 (age 42 years; as of 2023) in Ranchi, Jharkhand (Then in Bihar), India. He completed his schooling at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi. For his higher education, he joined St. Xavier College, Ranchi to pursue a bachelor’s degree but he could not complete his graduation because of some issues. He started learning cricket at a very young age. He played well in schools and colleges’ tournaments and became a local star.

Physical Appearance

• Height: 175 cm or 5′ 9″

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Pan Singh, who is an employee at MECON. His mother name is Devki Devi. He is the youngest of three siblings in his family. He has a sister named ‘Jayanti Gupta’ and also has an elder brother who is a politician named ‘Narendra Singh Dhoni.’ His family supported him to play cricket, especially his father and sister.

Wife & Children

Dhoni married Sakshi Singh Rawat (Sakshi Dhoni) on 4 July 2010 after dating her for a long time. Both are blessed with a daughter named ‘Ziva.’

Caste

MS Dhoni belongs to the Khas Rajput community. Khas Rajputs are mainly found in Uttarakhand and Nepal, who are known for their tall and strong physique, making them natural recruits for the armies of the hill Rajas.

Relationships & Girlfriend

Before dating Sakshi, Dhoni was in the relationship with Priyanka Jha who expired in 2002. Later, he dated a South Indian actress named ‘Lakshmi Rai.’

Career

His journey to the Indian cricket team was really tough. Earlier, he was a goalkeeper in a local Football team. A cricket coach, KR Banerjee noticed him while goalkeeping and asked him to try his hand at wicketkeeping. He played several local tournaments and became a local star. Although he was playing really well for Bihar since 1998, he was not getting a chance for playing in the Indian team. He moved to West Bengal and got the post of ticket collector at Kharagpur railway station and continued his job for 3 years (2001-2003). Eventually, on 23 December 2004, he made his One-Day International debut against Bangladesh at Chittagong. The same year, he got selected for India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya, where he performed exceptionally well. He made his Test and T20 debut in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In 2007, he was offered captaincy of the Indian team on the recommendation of Sachin Tendulkar and since then, he took the Indian team to heights like never before. Under his captaincy, India won the T20 World Cup 2007, World Cup 2011, Champions Trophy 2013, and India became the No. 1 Test team and remained at the top for 18 months.

After leading CSK in twelve seasons, four title triumphs, and five runner-up finishes, he quit the CSK captaincy and picked Ravindra Jadeja as his successor in March 2022. In a statement released on 24 March 2022, CSK said,

MS Dhoni has decided to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings and picked Ravindra Jadeja to lead the team. Jadeja, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead CSK.”

Led by MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings emerged victorious in the IPL 2023, matching the Mumbai Indians’ record of being the most successful team in the tournament’s history. This triumph marked their fifth time clinching the coveted trophy.

Entertainment

In 2019, he collaborated with Banijay Asia to produce content in various genres and produced a documentary web series titled Roar of The Lion. Later, he produced two more The Hidden Hindu and Blaze to Glory under the banner of MS Dhoni Entertainment. In October 2022, it was reported that he will also produce feature films in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam languages.

#LetsCinema EXCLUSIVE: Dhoni is launching his film production company in south ‘Dhoni Entertainment’ to produce films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. pic.twitter.com/zgTxzdSynT

— LetsCinema (@letscinema) October 9, 2022

Records

• Most centuries while batting at the position of No.7 in ODIs.

• Most number of sixes in the International Cricket as a captain.

• Most number of stumpings in the International Cricket.

• Highest score (183*) by a wicket-keeper batsman in ODIs.

• Most T20 International matches victories as a captain.

• Only skipper to score an ODI century while batting at No.7.

• The first Indian wicket-keeper batsman to score 4,000 Test runs.

• Highest score (224*) in Test Cricket by an Indian captain.

• Third skipper ever to have captained in more than 300 international matches, after Ricky Ponting (324) and Stephen Fleming (303).

• The only skipper to have captained in more than 50 matches in all 3 formats.

• The first Indian captain to win a Test series in New Zealand.

• The maximum number of stumpings in Twenty20 Internationals (33 stumpings in 91 matches).

Awards/Achievements

National Awards

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2007)

Achievements

• MTV Youth Icon of the Year (2006)

• ICC ODI Player of the Year (2008, 2009)

• CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Sports (2011)

• ICC Award for Spirit of Cricket (2011)

Retirement

On 15 August 2020, Dhoni took to his Instagram account to announce his retirement from international cricket. Earlier, he retired from Test cricket after the Melbourne test match in December 2014 during the Australia tour, where he was just 1 test match defeat away for equaling the record of being captain of most defeated test matches abroad.

Controversies

• In 2007, despite the severe water crisis in the state, 15000 liters of water was getting wasted for the maintenance of the swimming pool in Dhoni’s house. A few residents of his locality filed a plea against the Ranchi Regional Development Authority (RRDA).

• A tax evasion controversy over his Hummer H2 did the rounds, as the vehicle needed a registration charge of ₹4 lakhs in India, but, mistakenly, it was registered as a Mahindra Scorpio, the charge of registration of that vehicle which was ₹53,000.

• During the 2013 IPL spot-fixing, Dhoni came under the suspicion of the Supreme Court. He was in the contact with Gurunath Meiyappan, who was named in betting charge sheet. On questioning about the connection with Meiyappan, Dhoni called Gurunath Meiyappan, a “mere cricket enthusiast.” However, Meiyappan was a full-fledged team owner.

• In April 2016, he resigned as the brand ambassador of Amrapali real estate group after the firm was trolled on social media by residents of an Amrapali housing project who were angry over the unfinished work. Dhoni sued Amrapali group for over Rs 150 crore dues.

• He moved the Madras High Court in November 2022 to file a contempt petition against an IPS officer named G Sampath Kumar who made remarks against the cricketer during the investigation of the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL) spot-fixing and betting scandal. The Madras High Court sentenced Sampath to 15 days imprisonment on 15 December 2023. The bench, including Justices S S Sundar and Sunder Mohan, later suspended the execution of the punishment for 30 days to allow time for an appeal.

Favourites

• Cricketer(s): Batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist

Bowlers: Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee

• Cricket Ground(s): Lord’s Cricket Ground, London, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Melbourne

• Food(s): Chicken Butter Masala, Chicken Tikka Pizza, Kebabs, Yellow Dal, Sonpapdi, Gulab Jamun, Rasgullas

• Football Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

• Tennis Player: Rafael Nadal

• Film(s): Agneepath, Sholay

• Colour(s): Blue and Black

• Destination(s): Sri Lanka, Goa

Style/Quotient

Cars Collection

He owns many swanky cars and SUVs including Open Mahindra Scorpio, Toyota Corolla, Maruti SX4, Hummer H2, Porsche 911, Land Rover Freelander, Mitsubishi Pajero SFX, GMC Sierra, Mitsubishi Out Lander, Audi Q7 SUV, Ferrari 599, and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

In December 2021, he bought a 1971 vintage Land Rover 3 after participating in an auction held by Big Boy Toyz. On 15 August 2020, he welcomed a bright red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, a muscle car from the 1970s to his collection of cars. An image and a video of the car were shared by his wife, Sakshi Dhoni on her Instagram account.

His collection of vintage cars includes the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and a 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback as well. Dhoni added a Mercedes-AMG G 63 to his car collection in November 2023.

Bikes Collection

He is bike enthusiast and owns many luxury and classic bikes including Hero Karizma ZMR, Yamaha RXZ, Ducati 1098, Yamaha Thundercat, Yamaha RX, Yamaha RD 350, TVS Apache, Harley Davidson Fat Boy, Kawasaki ZX14R Ninja, Confederate Hellcat X 132, Enfield Machismo, Customized TVS Dirt bike. In February 2023, he added a TVS Ronin to his garage.

Salary/Net Worth

He reportedly received Rs 12 crore as a salary from his IPL team CSK in 2023. In July 2023, his net worth was reported as around Rs. 1,040 crore.

Facts 

• Lawli in Uttarakhand is the native village of his family. Reportedly, his father left the village in the 1970s in search of a job and landed in Ranchi, where he started working in a steel factory.

  MS Dhoni’s family’s ancestral home in Lwali village, Almora district in Uttarakhand

• Despite being busy in net sessions, he secured 65%  in his 10th Board exams.

• During the Talent Resource Development Wing (TRDW) match in Jamshedpur, PC Poddar (the former cricket captain of Bengal) saw great potential in Dhoni and selected him in the Bihar U19 team in the 1998/99 season. He played well and scored 176 runs in 5 matches.

• His coaches were Keshav Banerjee and Chanchal Bhattacharya.

• In 2002, he fell in love with a girl named Priyanka Jha. But, sadly, the same year, Priyanka expired in a road accident.

• India A tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya in 2004 was the turning point of his life. He got selected for the tour and he performed very well.

• His international ODI debut was not a dream debut for him; as he got run out for a duck against Bangladesh on 23 December 2004.

• He made his maiden ODI century against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam, where he smashed 148 runs off 123 balls.

• Earlier, he had long hair for two reasons; first, he is a fan of the actor, John Abraham, secondly, he used to consider it lucky.

• He and his wife Sakshi knew each other since their childhood, but in 2007, they fell in love with each other when they met in Kolkata. After dating each other for 3 years, they got married in a low-profile ceremony in 2010.

• In 2011, the Indian Territorial Army honoured him with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

  M. S. Dhoni as an Army Officer

• In 2012, 2013, and 2014, he was the highest taxpayer sportsperson in India.

• He is considered one of the best finishers in international cricket. He is known for finishing the match with a six. The popular one among the fans is winning 6 in the 2011 ICC World Cup final against Sri Lanka.

• Dhoni learned the helicopter shot from his childhood friend Santosh Lal, who passed away in July 2013.

• In 2012, he became the richest cricketer in the world (#31 in the world) by Forbes magazine, outpacing popular sportspersons such as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and the World’s fastest man Usain Bolt.

• A hotel in Ranchi, ‘Mahi Residency,’ has been named after him since he made it to the Indian national cricket team’s squad in 2004.

• He is a pet lover and has 2 pet dogs, a Labrador named Zarah and an Alsatian named Sam.

• He is a bike lover also and co-owns the ‘Mahi Racing Team India’ in Supersport World Championship.

• In 2016, he launched a fashion brand ‘Seven’ with Rhiti Group.

• In 2016, his biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story was released. It was rumoured that he took ₹40 crores from the makers of his biopic.

• On 2 February 2022, Virzu Studios in association with MIDAS Deals Pvt Ltd. released the poster of a graphic novel titled Atharva – The Origin in which Dhoni himself appeared as a superhero and warrior leader.

  MS Dhoni’s graphic novel Atharva

• On 9 May 2023, Bomman and Bellie of The Elephant Whisperers fame and the film’s Oscar-winning director Kartiki Gonsalves paid a visit to M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk in Chennai, where MS Dhoni presented them personalised jerseys.

  Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni presenting the jerseys to Bomman and Bellie on 9 May 2023

  Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni presenting a personalised jersey to Kartiki Gonsalves on 9 May 2023

• Apart from cricket, Dhoni has shown interest in other sports including golf. He was once spotted playing golf with Donald Trump, an American politician.

  Mahendra Singh Dhoni with Donald Trump and others at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster

• On 29 October 2023, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was announced as the brand ambassador for the State Bank of India (SBI).

• On 15 December 2023, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to retire Dhoni’s No.7 jersey to honour his contributions to the Indian cricket team.

• In January 2024, Dhoni filed a complaint against two officials of Aarka Sports Management, Mihir Diwakar, and Soumya Vishwash, for defrauding him of over 15 crore. Reportedly, Dhoni and Diwakar had planned to establish a global cricket academy in 2017; however, Diwakar allegedly failed to adhere to the agreed-upon terms and conditions; the agreement specified that Aarka Sports should pay a franchise fee and share profits, but these terms were reportedly not honoured.

• Dhoni smokes hookah occasionally. He was spotted smoking hookah at a party in January 2024.

Smokey start to 2024 MS Dhoni caught on camera smoking Hookah #Dhoni #Thala #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/KcDWjhGg2B

— Rosy (@rose_k01) January 6, 2024