Happy birthday, MS Dhoni! Ten facts about the cricketer you should not miss

'Captain Cool', as Mahendra Singh Dhoni is fondly known as, celebrates his 41st birthday today.

The famous cricketer has earned a massive fan base due to his excellent performance in various aspects of cricket, including wicket-keeping and batting. The former captain of the Indian Cricket team is known for his patience and ability to remain calm under pressure. Under the leadership of the cricketer, the Indian cricket team won the 2011 World Cup, a feat that the team achieved after 28 years. 

The player, who hails from Ranchi, Jharkhand currently resides in the city. Dhoni also serves as the captain for the Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Chennai Super Kings.  The team has won four out of 15 IPL seasons till date under the captain’s leadership. He was also the subject of the 2016 biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story starring Sushant Singh Rajput, which was a big hit at the Indian box office. 

But there are facts about the cricketer that not many people know about.

Today, on his birthday, we shine the spotlight on why MS Dhoni is a winner of so many hearts:

1. Automobile collector:

Apart from being a excellent cricketer, Dhoni is also known for his passion of automobiles. The cricketer owns large and fascinating collections of motorbikes and cars. According to sources, the first bike that Dhoni bought on his own was a second-hand Yamaha RX100. Today, the cricketer owns an impressive collection of motor vehicles that includes powerful bikes like Ducati 1098, Harley Davidson Fatboy, Confederate X132 Hellcat, and Kawasaki Ninja H2. His car collection includes Ferrari 599 GTO, Hummer H2, Audi Q7, and Porsche 911, among others.
 

2. Captain Cool

Dhoni’s has earned the title of ‘Captain Cool’ for his patience and his way of remaining calm under pressure. There have been many situations in several matches, when this trait has helped the former Indian captain to make good decisions and think of winning strategies. 
 

3. He holds the record for most ODI wins 

MS Dhoni holds the record for the most One Day International (ODI) wins in his career. According to sources, the cricketer has won 110 ODI matches out of 200 held between 2007 to 2018. During his career as an ODI captain, the cricketer had scored a total of 6,641 runs. 
 

4. An excellent wicket-keeper 

MS Dhoni is considered to be one of the most successful and celebrated wicketkeepers in International cricket. The cricketer is lauded for his skills and thinking when he is behind the stumps. He has made 195 stumpings in all his international matches. This makes him the only player who has 100 plus stumpings solely in ODI. 
 

5. He owns a gym chain in India

Dhoni also owns a gym and fitness centre chain known as Sportsfit World. According to reports, the brand operates around 11 gyms across India. It has outlets in Delhi, Lucknow, Mererut, Gurgaon, Dehradun, and Varanasi, to name a few.

Also Read: Very few can match Dhoni’s fitness at his current age: Trainer Ramji Srinivasan

6. He owns a hotel and a grand farmhouse in Ranchi

According to reports, the sport star has a hotel known as Mahi Residency in his hometown, Ranchi. The cricketer also owns a large 7-acre house in Ranchi where he resides currently. Dhoni moved into the house in 2017 with his family. He has shared some snaps of the house on social media. 
 

7. He owns Ranchi Rays and Chennaiyin FC

The cricketer also owns teams across various sports. He owns the Ranchi-based football team Ranchi Rays and co-owns the popular football India Super League (ISL) franchise Chennaiyin FC with Bollywood actor, Abhishek Bachchan​. 

8. He has invested in a drone company 

MS Dhoni had recently invested in a Chennai-based drone start-up, Garuda Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. He was approached to be the brand ambassador of the company but the cricketer also invested a portion of money in the firm. According to reports, the company stands at a value of $250 million.
 

9. His famous helicopter shot

Dhoni was the first credited cricketer ever to use this shot in cricket matches. The shot is a style of batting in which the player flicks the bat towards the leg side and finishes the shot by twisting the bat in a full circle. The method is used to hit a Yorker delivery.

10. A biopic on him

The 2016 film MS Dhoni: The Untold story was based on the professional and personal life of the cricketer. The film, which starred Sushant Singh Rajput in the lead role, was hugely successful at the Indian box office. The film provided viewers an insight into the personal life of the cricketer, his struggles and successes. The film directed by Neeraj Pandey was released in 2016.

Also Read: IPL 2022: A breakdown of why Chennai Super Kings lost to Lucknow Super Giants