One of the greatest-ever wicketkeeper-batter and captain to grace the cricket field, MS Dhoni, on Sunday celebrated his birthday. The former India captain, who turned 43, is currently in Mumbai to attend the wedding of Anant Ambani, the son of Reliance Group Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, with his longtime girlfriend, Radhika Merchant, where he celebrated his birthday with wife Sakshi, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan and a few of his close friends.
Sakshi later posted a video of the cake-cutting ceremony on her Instagram handle and captioned it: “Happy Birthday @mahi7781.” In the clip, Dhoni cut the cake and shared a piece with his wife, who then playfully touched his feet and followed it with a folded-hand gesture. Dhoni, who could not stop laughing, reacted to it by giving his blessing.
It was only in May when Dhoni was in action in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for CSK, where the franchise failed make the playoffs after finishing fifth in the points table with seven wins and as many losses in 14 games. Dhoni had relinquished his captaincy spot before the start of the season, as Ruturaj Gaikwad took over the reins. He, however, had a stellar season as a batter, where he smashed 161 runs at an astronomical strike rate of 220.55, with a boundary scored less than every three deliveries.
Dhoni announced his international retirement on August 15, 2020, a year after he played his last match for India, in the semifinal loss of the 2019 ODI World Cup against New Zealand. During his illustrious career, Dhoni captained the Indian side from 2007 to 2016, during which India bagged the top prize in all formats. Under his leadership, the side led in the Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009. He also led the side to a T20 World Cup win in 2007, a 50-over World Cup in 2011 and Champions Trophy victory in 2013, thus making him the only-ever captain to win all three ICC trophies in white-ball formats.
For Chennai Super Kings, he led the franchise to five IPL title wins as a captain in 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021 and 2023, and two Champions League T20 wins in 2010 and 2014. Dhoni has played 264 IPL matches, mostly for CSK, other than a stint with Rising Pune Supergiant from 2016 to 2017.
