MS Dhoni over the years: The remarkable journey from 2004-2018 in pictures

​

Thanks to Sushant Singh Rajput’s brilliant portrayal, the story of MS Dhoni is now well versed with every Indian cricket fan. India’s most successful captain has had a fairytale journey, one that has seen him travel through the crests and troughs of Indian cricket, claiming a unique place for himself in the game’s folklore with an unmatched approach and a tactically brilliant mind.

Here we revisit his career through a picture series:

In the early 2000s, Rahul Dravid was thrust with the keeping gloves to improve team balance and sneak in an extra batsman. India tried hard to find a replacement, but there didn’t seem to be a permanent fix.

Getting the nod ahead of the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Deep Dasgupta, Dhoni made his international debut in December 2004, against minnows Bangladesh at Chittagong, making a bad first impression by getting run out without bothering the scorers. He learned his lesson quickly, and would go on to attain cult status for his swift running between the wickets. 

Dhoni made his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong

With scores of 12,7 and 3 in the following three matches, pressure started to mount on the 23-year-old, who was already under scrutiny for his unorthodox wicketkeeping and shoddy batting technique.

The fortunes turned for the better in his fifth ODI against Pakistan, with the skipper showing trust in him by promoting him up the order. The move paid rich dividends, as he notched up his first hundred, a knock that gave the world its first peek into Dhoni’s aggressive, unlovely, yet highly effective form of batting.

Dhoni’s first ODI century turned his career around

The knock opened the floodgates for Dhoni, who found his mojo in ODIs, travelling with the team to Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe as the primary keeper.

However, he still needed one more innings to clinch his spot permanently, and it came in the form of a bludgeoning onslaught against Sri Lanka, a few days before Diwali 2005. Promoted once again, Dhoni played a no-holds-barred knock, smashing the living daylights out of the Lankan bowlers en route to an unbeaten 183, still the highest score by a keeper in ODIs. The century gave him a spot in the Test squad as well.

Dhoni’s brutal hundred flattened Sri Lanka beyond repair

​