India's ODI XI in MS Dhoni's debut match: Where are they now?
MS Dhoni is widely regarded as India’s greatest captain ever and also among the best finishers that the game has seen. Under Dhoni’s command, the Indian team won a World T20 title, a 50-over World Cup, and also reached atop the ICC team rankings for Tests.
Considering the kind of debut that he had, no one would have dreamt that he would have such a long and successful journey.
Dhoni’s first international match was an ODI against Bangladesh at Chittagong in December 2004, which was part of a 3-match bilateral series. Coming in to bat at No. 6, MSD turned his first ball to the leg side and tried to scamper across for a single but was denied by non-striker Mohammad Kaif.
Unfortunately, by the time he turned around and got back to his crease, the future Indian great was run out by Khaled Mashud. India eventually won the match by 11 runs, and Kaif won the Man of the Match award for his 80-run knock.
None of the names from Team India’s playing XI on MS Dhoni’s debut feature in the current ODI team apart from the man himself. Let’s take a look at where each of those ten players is at present:
1. Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly was the captain of the Indian team when MS Dhoni made his debut, and just like the latter, he was also dismissed for a duck off the second ball of the match. Ganguly would go on to lead India for almost another year before losing the captaincy to Rahul Dravid, thanks to his feud with coach Greg Chappell.
Poor form with the bat also ensured his ouster from the team, but he made a strong comeback late in 2006 to cement his place in the side. In his second stint as an Indian cricketer, Sourav Ganguly achieved Test batting milestones that had eluded him so far, including a double century and a hundred at his home ground, Eden Gardens.
Dada, as Ganguly is fondly known, called time on his career after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2008 and played a good hand in both Indian victories during the series. Since retirement, the former Indian skipper has donned many hats, including that of a cricket commentator, a TV game show host, and an administrator.
Ganguly is currently president of the BCCI, having served as the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal in the past. The former Indian captain has already made significant contributions towards improving the state of cricket not only in West Bengal but in the entire country. He is also co-owner of the football club, ATK, which plays in the Indian Super League.
2. Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar opened the batting for India alongside skipper Sourav Ganguly during MS Dhoni’s first international appearance and managed to score just 19 off 32 balls. Tendulkar was already one of the all-time greats of the game at that point with nearly 10,000 Test and over 13,000 ODI runs and was only growing in stature.
Another feather got added in the legendary cricketer’s cap when an MS Dhoni-led Indian team, which he was part of, lifted the 50-over World Cup after 28 years in 2011. By the time he retired from cricket in 2013, Sachin had most major batting records in Tests and ODIs under his belt, and nearly all of them are still intact.
While he was still playing for Team India in 2012, Tendulkar had been sworn as a member of the Rajya Sabha. Apart from that, the iconic cricketer was one of India’s brand ambassadors for the Rio Olympics and has also been involved in several social awareness campaigns.
The legendary cricketer still has numerous brand endorsements to take care of and has his own clothing brand named True Blue. To add to it, Sachin Tendulkar also co-owns the Kerala Blasters franchise, which is part of the Indian Super League.
In 2015, Tendulkar joined forces with former Australian cricketer Shane Warne to organise an All-Stars T20 tournament in the US, involving many other great cricketers of their time. The 3-match affair was a blockbuster and enjoyed a lot of popularity not only among fans flocking to the ground but all over the world.
3. Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh was one of the rising stars in the Indian team at the time MS Dhoni began his international career and scored 21 runs off 33 deliveries in the latter’s debut game. In the years that followed, the southpaw became one of the most dependable players for India in limited-overs cricket even though his Test career never really got going.
He formed a great bond with Dhoni, who had become the skipper by then, and was one of his aces in ODI and T20I cricket. Yuvraj made a stellar contribution to India’s 2007 World Twenty20 success and took it a step further by winning the Player of the Tournament award in their 2011 ICC World Cup triumph.
The Punjab cricketer’s career hit a major roadblock when he was diagnosed with cancer, but he recovered from it successfully. Since then, Yuvraj Singh was unable to find himself a permanent spot in the Indian team and made brief appearances every now and then.
Most recently, he represented the national team in the 2016 World T20 which was played in India. The swashbuckling batsman also played in the IPL and won the 2016 edition of the tournament with his new franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Yuvraj has since called time on his career, and sometimes plays in T20 leagues around the world.
4. Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid had been carrying out the wicketkeeping responsibilities for the Indian team until the ODI before MS Dhoni’s debut, so he received a bit of relief due to the youngster’s inclusion. Dravid played a crucial knock of 53 in the match, and his 128-run partnership with Mohammad Kaif helped India to a respectable total.
The iconic Indian batsman took over the captaincy reins from Sourav Ganguly almost a year later, and the team enjoyed quite a lot of success across formats under him including India’s first series win in England. However, India’s debacle at the 2007 ODI World Cup prompted him to step down, and Dhoni took over from him in ODIs whereas Anil Kumble became Test captain.
As a batsman, Rahul Dravid continued to be the backbone of the Test team alongside the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. Even during India’s disastrous tour of England in 2011, Dravid’s performance stood out as he scored three centuries in 4 Tests.
However, on the team’s subsequent tour to Australia, the legend failed to deliver with the bat in another debacle for the Indians and hung his boots months later. Dravid, though, continued to play IPL for a couple of years as part of the Rajasthan Royals and took over the mentor’s role post that.
In the 2016 season, he shifted allegiances to the Delhi Daredevils side following the Royals’ 2-year suspension from the tournament. Rahul Dravid served as coach of the Indian team during the 2016 Under-19 World Cup played in Bangladesh.
At present, the legendary Indian cricketer serves as the Director of Cricket Operations at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. He also looks after the progress of the India 'A' and India U19 teams.
5. Mohammad Kaif
At the time when MS Dhoni made his first appearance in the Indian blue jersey, Mohammad Kaif was one of the middle-order mainstays of the team. He saved India the blushes with his knock of 80 runs in the match and was later named the Man of the Match.
Kaif’s decline as an ODI cricketer began late in 2005 as he encountered a string of failures and struggled even on days when he scored runs. He was eventually dropped from the side in 2006 and never received another call-up. In the Test arena, the Allahabad-born cricketer found himself out of the team just as his career had started to take shape.
Kaif continued to play domestic cricket for his state side, Uttar Pradesh, and also had a few stints in county cricket. In 2014, Kaif tried to enter politics as he contested on behalf of the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. Still, he suffered a massive loss at the hands of the opposition candidate.
He switched from his home team to the Andhra Pradesh side in the 2014/15 Ranji Trophy and represented them for two seasons. Kaif captained debutants Chhattisgarh in the 2016/17 season of India’s premier domestic first-class tournament.
The former India batsman retired from all formats of the game in 2018. He most recently played for India Legends in the Road Safety World Series before the tournament was called off due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
6. Sridharan Sriram
In the same match as MS Dhoni’s international debut, left-handed batsman Sridharan Sriram made a comeback to the team after a brief stint in the year 2000. It did not go too well for Sriram with the bat as Khaled Mashud stumped him for just three runs off Mohammad Rafique, but he did pick up three wickets during the Bangladeshi innings.
Although he did score 57 in the next match that India happened to lose, the southpaw did not get another opportunity in the series or his career. Sriram, though, continued to play domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu and ended his first-class career in 2012 with close to 10,000 runs at an average of nearly 53.
Sridharan Sriram was also one of the players to have joined the rebel ICL league and played for the Ahmedabad Rockets franchise. However, he returned to BCCI’s fold in 2009 as he agreed to the amnesty offer made by the board and went on to represent Delhi Daredevils and also Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Even though he may not be playing competitive cricket anymore, Sriram was back in the news in 2015 as he was picked as a batting consultant for the Australian cricket team for their tour to Bangladesh. Due to security concerns, the tour did not go ahead, but the Tamil Nadu cricketer was roped in for a similar role before the 2016 World T20.
The all-rounder from Tamil Nadu currently serves as the full-time spin-bowling coach for the Australian national team. His work with the team was highlighted in the recent documentary web series, The Test.
7. Ajit Agarkar
Ajit Agarkar was a senior pro in a primarily young Indian ODI pace attack at the time when MS Dhoni made his Team India debut. The Mumbai fast bowler contributed with both bat and ball in the match as he scored a brisk 25 and later picked up the last two wickets that fell in the Bangladeshi innings.
Agarkar continued playing international cricket for another three years or so, and his last match was a T20I against New Zealand during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007, which India eventually won under Dhoni’s leadership. With a career tally of 288 ODI wickets, he is still the 3rd highest wicket-taker for India in the format.
Despite remaining out of the Indian team’s scheme of things, Ajit Agarkar played domestic cricket for Mumbai regularly. He went on to win multiple Ranji Trophy titles with his team, including the 2012/13 season where he was the skipper.
After leading Mumbai to their 40th title in the marquee tournament of Indian domestic cricket, Agarkar formally retired from all forms of cricket in October 2013. Ajit Agarkar also appeared as a cricket analyst for a renowned cricket website and also makes TV appearances on a cricket talk show.
Agarkar was also in the running for the Chairman of Selectors post, before Sunil Joshi was given the job.
8. Irfan Pathan
When MS Dhoni’s international debut came about, Irfan Pathan had just completed a year with the Indian team. Pathan completed a good all-round show in the match by scoring an 11-ball 21 and recording figures of 1 for 45 from 9 overs.
For the next few years, the Baroda cricketer established his reputation as the seam-bowling all-rounder that India had longed for since Kapil Dev’s departure. In 2006, Pathan became only the second Indian bowler to grab a Test match hat-trick, a feat he achieved against Pakistan at Karachi.
He delivered a match-winning performance in the final of the ICC World Twenty20 against the Pakistanis in 2007 with figures of 3 for 16. The first ODI series that India won under Dhoni, the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia, also featured some excellent performances from the left-arm pacer.
However, injuries coupled with poor form took a toll on Irfan Pathan’s international career, and he has never had a steady run in Team India since 2009. His last appearance for the national team came during the ICC World T20 in 2012 in a group stage match against South Africa.
Pathan, though, has been a consistent performer for Baroda in domestic cricket, particularly in the limited-overs formats. He has also featured in various IPL sides over the years and was part of the new Rising Pune Supergiants franchise in the 2016 season.
Pathan formally announced his retirement from all forms of the game earlier in the year.
9. Joginder Sharma
In the 1st match of the 2004 ODI series against Bangladesh at Chittagong, Joginder Sharma, too, made his debut alongside Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Sharma did not have much of a role to play with the bat, but he bowled decently enough to be India’s most economical bowler on the night and also picked up a wicket.
The all-rounder played just 4 ODIs and the same number of T20Is in his career and did not exactly set the stage on fire with his performances. However, Joginder Sharma etched his name in the history of Indian cricket by starring in one of its most iconic moments.
Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan had all but taken away the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 trophy from India’s hands with his stellar knock in the final. With six needed to win from four balls, Misbah tried to scoop a straight ball from Joginder towards fine leg where Sreesanth completed the catch, and the Indians won by five runs.
That was the Haryana bowler’s last match as an international cricketer, but he continued playing for his state in domestic cricket. It recently surfaced that Joginder Sharma is a Deputy Superintendent with the Haryana Police department.
After missing out on the 2015/16 Ranji Trophy season, Sharma has made a comeback to the Haryana side in the ongoing season and picked up a 5-wicket haul in their last match against Chhattisgarh.
Sharma was recently in the news for his contribution as a police officer to India's fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
10. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh was one of the key members of the Indian team back in the days when MS Dhoni started his international career. In Dhoni’s debut match, the off-spinner did not pick up any wickets but conceded just 46 runs in his 10 overs to keep the Bangladesh batsmen in check.
In the years that followed, Harbhajan went on to enhance his reputation as one of the best spinners in world cricket. With numerous tricks up his sleeve, the offie won India quite a few Tests at home even though he did struggle to quite an extent on foreign conditions.
The Punjab spinner was a regular in the Indian team until mid-2011 but the emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin and a dip in form contributed to his ouster from the team. Since then, Harbhajan has made appearances for India every now and then across formats but has not been able to cement his place in the side.
The last time he featured in an international match was against the UAE during the first-ever T20I Asia Cup held in 2015. However, Harbhajan was a regular face in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians and he won 2 titles with them, including the 2013 edition.
Currently, Harbhajan plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, under the captaincy of Mahendra Singh Dhoni himself.