MS Dhoni is arguably the most successful captain for India. From Ticket collector to India’s captain in all formats, the Ranchi born has come a long way in his life. Some people regard Dhoni as a born leader and a proven match-winner.
The legendary cricketer was first appointed as captain during the 2007 World T20 in South Africa. The Ranchi-born went on to captain India for another 10 years. The wicket-keeper batsman is the only captain to win all ICC trophies.
Under his captaincy, India won the inaugural 2007 World T20 in South Africa, ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 and the 2013 ICC Champions trophy.
He played a massive role along with Gautam Gambhir in helping India win the 2011 World cup. Dhoni who promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the final went on to score 91* off 79 deliveries.
Even today after achieving so much success, Dhoni still maintains a low social profile. As a player, he always put his nation first in not one but many instances. Glamour and attention was never Dhoni’s forte.
Let’s look at 5 such instances when MS Dhoni put his country before everything else:
1) Not Flying back home after daughter’s birth
Just a week ahead of the 2015 World cup, Dhoni’s wife Sakshi gave birth to their first child ‘Ziva’. At that time Dhoni was in Australia with the Indian team preparing for the all-important World cup.
Everyone thought Dhoni would fly back But to everyone’s surprise, Dhoni decided to stay with the Indian team and not fly back to India. He was asked about the same in a press conference where the Indian captain replied, “No, I’m on national duty. everything else can wait”.
2) Wife comes after Nation and Parents for MS Dhoni
Dhoni has his priorities cleared, he once said that for him the nation and parents come first followed by his wife. He shares a very special bond with his wife having known for many years but when its about priorities and keeping things first its always his country and parents.
Dhoni was once quoted saying the following, “I tell my wife she is only the third most important thing after my country and parents.”
3) Not playing with the Indian flag on his keeping helmet
In multiple instances, we’ve seen the wicket-keeper batsman respecting the Indian flag. A trend started by Sachin Tendulkar in the early 2000s is still followed by many players in the Indian cricket team.
But one such exception is Dhoni, he does not display the Indian tricolour flag on his helmet solely because he has to keep it on the ground most of the time while keeping to fast bowlers. We can clearly see the amount of respect and pride he carries for the Indian flag that he doesn’t even want it to touch the grass.
4) Receiving the Padma Bhushan in Army Uniform
In 2018, MS Dhoni was conferred with the third-highest civilian honour Padma Bhushan. He received the award from India’s President Ramnath Kovind. But what was surprising to see the attire Dhoni chose to wear on that particular day.
The cricketer from Ranchi, who is an honorary lieutenant colonel in the Territorial Army marched past the dignitaries present at Rashtrapati Bhavan to receive the award in his army uniform. The 39-year-old later tweeted about the same on his Instagram.
“An honour to get the Padma Bhushan and receiving it in Uniform increases the excitement ten folds.thanks to all the Men and Women in Uniform and their families for the Sacrifices they make so that all of us could enjoy our Constitutional Rights. Jai Hind.”
5) You don’t play for the crowd, you play for the country – MS Dhoni
The former India skipper once said that you don’t play for the crowd but you play for the country. He was booed multiple times by the crowd at various foreign stadiums but Dhoni has always kept his cool.
He’s never let anything of that sort affect him and that’s what really makes him an all-time great.