Wishes galore for MS Dhoni as he turns 40 today

Tags: India, Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Published on: Jul 07, 2021

Former India captain and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni turned 40 on Wednesday. Wishes poured in for the India legend from all over on the special occasion. Former India batsman Suresh Raina, who played a lot alongside Dhoni both for India and at CSK, tweeted a video featuring some candid moments of the two cricketers.

Along with the post, he wrote, "Wishing you a very happy birthday @msdhoni You have been a friend, brother and a mentor to me, all one could ever ask for. May God bless you with good health and long life! Thank you for being an iconic player and a great leader.#HappyBirthdayDhoni.”

Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Kaif also tweeted wishes for the India legend. Kaif compared Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy and wrote, "Dada taught us, youngsters, how to win and Dhoni made it into a habit. Two great leaders from different eras born just a day apart. Happy birthday to the men who shaped Indian cricket. @msdhoni @SGanguly99."

Describing Dhoni as his greatest friend, Pandya tweeted, “To my forever love and my greatest friend, happy birthday Mahi bhai. Only love for you @msdhoni.”

The BCCI and the ICC also tweeted multiple wishes for Dhoni on the much-revered cricketer’s 40th birthday.

Dhoni is regarded as one of the greatest players to have graced the gentleman’s game. He is the only captain to have won all three ICC titles. Under Dhoni, India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.

As a player as well, Dhoni has a stupendous international record. Having made his international debut against Bangladesh in 2004, he went on to feature in 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is. Dhoni scored 4,876 runs in Tests at an average of 38.09, 10,773 runs in ODIs at an average of 50.58. In T20Is, he finished with 1617 runs at a strike rate of 126.13.

Dhoni last played for India in the 2019 World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Manchester, which the Indians lost. He retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020, but captained CSK in the first half of IPL 2021. He will again be seen in action when the T20 league resumes in the UAE in September.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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