Tribute to 'Thala' Dhoni - from MSD fans, to MSD fans!!!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is not just a name, but a phenomenon. His career has seen so many ups and downs, transformations, and struggles that without exaggeration, it's fair to say that his career can be a thesis material and lesson to a lot of people out there. From being a loved cricketer, to have stones thrown at his house, to becoming a celebrated cricketer, MS Dhoni has seen it all.

The Ranchi batsman made his International debut in 2004 against Bangladesh but had a tough start to his career. In spite of his early failures, Saurav Ganguly trusted his ability and sent him at no. 3 against Pakistan where he blasted 148 off just 123 balls which was an innings that made everyone look at Dhoni as a dangerous player. Later that year, he played another great innings of 183 runs from just 145 deliveries against SriLanka that made people believe that he really will be a special cricketer for India in the years to come.  He had a good start to his test career scoring a big hundred against Pakistan in just his 5th Test.

2007 was an important year in his career. He had a forgettable 50 overs world cup in 2007 where he just scored 29 runs in the tournament, Later that year, he was surprising announced the captain of India for the T20 world cup. From being the stylish flamboyant batsman, people saw the other side of him which was the calm personality who took all the pressure and responsibility.  With an inexperienced team, he managed to win the world cup and got the best out of every player, none more than getting Joginder Sharma to ball the famous final over.

Around this time, he was bought by the Chennai Super Kings in the auction and this was the time, TamilNadu adopted him and in the minds of people, he was no more a Ranchi player anymore. He was just 'Thala'. He has led CSK to 3 IPL titles and have managed to qualify in the top 4 every single time.

He has played a number of memorable knocks and has always been a big match player. None can get bigger than his 91 not out of 79 balls in the finals of the 2011 world cup. He has scored a number of Match winning innings for CSK as well, and one of the most memorable will be his 54 not out against the Kings XI Punjab, scoring 16 runs of Irfan Pathan's last over, which was an innings that powered CSK to finals.

Apart from his tremendous contributions as a player, his contributions as captain has been phenomenal. He has produced a number of Cricketers for the Indian team and one of them being Rohit Sharma, who has admitted that it was Dhoni's decision to make him open the innings, that changed his career and made him the player he is. He is a captain who players have absolute confidence in as he always backs players and does not judge them based on their performances. He always manages to get the best out of players as we have seen with CSK as well. He has been the most successful captain for India across all formats. He has taken India to the number 1 position in Tests, has won all the tournaments in the limited overs version as well. His partnership with CSK has been unbelievable and again is the most successful captain in IPL as well.

Amidst all this, everyone forget his brilliance as a wicketkeeper. He has the fastest hands in the game and his stumping speed is unmatched. He has been really smart and optimal with his keeping, introducing the flick of the ball between legs for run out, which many others have tried to replicate. 

He is still going really strong for India and in IPL as he has just scored a magnificent 75 from 46 balls against the Rajasthan Royals rescuing CSK from a tough position. Hope the legend continues to play and entertain us for years to come.