35-year-old Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly the most loved captain of Indian National Cricket Team. Under the leadership of this cricket genius, India had many victories in its basket.
Hailing from Jharkhand and father of a baby doll Ziva, here are few lesser known facts about this dazzling batsman.
Beyond Cricket
Apart from being the best finisher of the cricket game, Dhoni is co-owner of ‘Ranchi Rays’, a Ranchi-based hockey club. This club takes part in the Hockey India League too. Also, Dhoni is co-partner of team Mahi Racing with Akkineni Nagarjuna in the Supersport World Championship.
An army man
In November 2011, Dhoni was honored with Lt. Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army. Dhoni has always shown his interest in the army and aspires to play some role in the army in near future. With this Dhoni became the second cricketer after Kapil Dev to be conferred with this honor. Dhoni has also received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Dhoni as a TTE
Before being part of Team India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has worked as a Train Ticket Examiner. He worked as a TTE at Kharagpur railway station, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W), a district in West Bengal from the year 2001-2003.
A Mischievous Prankster
While working as a TTE, Dhoni came up in the news as well. It was due to the mischievous prank which he planned along with his friends. Dhoni walked around the railway quarters complex carrying white bed sheets and made the guards believe that it was a ghost.
Food love
Dhoni is a non-vegetarian and butter chicken is his favorite dish. His love of food can be interpreted by the fact that his wife, Sakshi Dhoni is seen carrying electric cooker whenever she accompanies Dhoni on a cricket tour.
Association with football and badminton
It was after 10th standard that Dhoni started to focus on cricket. Until then, he has played football and also dabbled Badminton at both club and state level. His techniques of reflexing as a wicketkeeper can be attributed to some level of football as he played as a goalkeeper in the game.
Millionaire Dhoni
According to Forbes magazine, Dhoni has the highest net worth of $30 million which even leaves master blaster Sachin Tendulkar behind. In the first season auction of IPL, Dhoni was bought by Chennai Super Kings at a whopping amount of 1.5 Million USD making him the most expensive player. Dhoni is also the highest taxpayer in Jharkhand.
Role of Sachin in his making
Dhoni was the captain of Indian cricket team when India won the 2007 ICC World T20, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. But the captaincy journey started when legendary Batsman, Sachin Tendulkar suggested M.S Dhoni’s name in 2007. Sachin said that due to his calm nature and his ability to get along with everyone on the side, it would make Dhoni the best captain.
Dhoni’s hairstyles
Dhoni with his unique hairstyles has always been in the public eye. During his International career, Dhoni could be seen with a trendy mohawk and also long hairs. But the reason behind his long flowing hair was inspired by John Abraham. Dhoni is believed to share good friendships with John and Bipasha Basu.
Endorsement King
Dhoni is the most preferred celebrity for endorsement of brands. After Bollywood king Shahrukh Khan, Dhoni is the celebrity who has endorsed the maximum brands (20) including videocon, Pepsico, Reebok etc.
Love for bikes and cars
Dhoni is always known for his dazzling array for bikes and cars. He has a collection of as many 23 bikes. It also includes few famous bikes such as Harley Davidson and Ducati. He also has a huge collection of cars such as Hummer H2 and the Audi Q7 to name a few.
We wish Mahendra Singh Dhoni all the good luck for his biopic M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story which is scheduled to be released on 30 September.
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