Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Irrespective of your love for cricket, if you live in India and haven’t heard about the awesomeness of this man, there’s something seriously wrong with you. Where does even one begin to sum up this gladiator. In a cricket crazy nation, he came out of nowhere and became our leader, our captain and our inspiration.
The most successful captain in our history, one of the best wicketkeepers in the business and the greatest finisher the sport has ever seen… all rolled into one.
Not like one needs a reason to know how awesome MSD is but just in case you do, here are 36 points that testify to his awesomeness.
1. He’s the only Indian skipper to lead us to 2 World Cup trophies.
2. And he has also won us the Champions Trophy.
3. Under him, we also became No. 1 in Tests.
4. He hits sixes like this.
5. And this one!
6. He’s not one to steal the limelight. Try spotting him in this image.
7. He knows the difference between rivalry and sportsmanship.
8. He’s a true ambassador of the gentleman’s game.
9. He’s calm under pressure.
10. Because he puts India before everything else.
This is when he was asked if he would return mid-series from Australia to attend the birth of his daughter, Ziva.
11. He’s a Lieutenant Colonel with the Indian Army.
12. He truly is a national servant.
13. And he never gives up. Ever.
14. If it’s going down to the wire, MS Dhoni is your best bet.
15. Because he takes catches like this…
16. And saves boundaries like this…
17. He has finished 9 matches with a 6. That’s a world record!
18. 208 ODI sixes, another world record!
19. Because you cannot mess with MS!
20. Even his coaches swear by him.
21. Because he takes your bails off before you can even say ‘run out!’
22. And he can also do it in slow mo!
23. In fact, he holds the world record for the world’s fastest stumping: 0.9 seconds.
24. He can hit the stumps without even looking at them.
25. He gave us the Helicopter Shot
26. Despite being a wicketkeeper-batsman, he’s also bowled more times than any other keeper in international cricket: 9 times.
27. He can win you the match on the last delivery with bat or ball
28. Because defeats hurt and he’s honest about it.
29. And he’s also honest about all the things he does not understand.
30. And he always expects 100%, nothing less.
31. Highest number of international dismissals: 732.
32. Because he behaves like a friend and a leader. Not like a senior.
33. He makes his juniors and debutants feel at home.
34. He understands the unrealistic expectations of 1.2 billion cricket crazy people.
35. After 28 long years, he won us the World Cup with this six!
36. And finally, the coolest follow-through in history
Admit it, there can only be one Mahendra Singh Dhoni!