England vs India 2018: MS Dhoni set to play his 500th international game
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is all set to play his 500th international game, joining an elite list of cricketers to have achieved the feat. His participation in the second T20I of the ongoing India-England series will take his tally to 500 matches (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is combined).
Dhoni will become only the third player after Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to complete the count of 500 matches. While Sachin played 664 games across three formats (463 ODIs, 200 Tests and 1 T20I), Dravid appeared in 509 matches (344 ODIs, 164 Tests, and 1 T20I).
The 36-year-old, who will turn a year older on July 7, made his international debut under Sourav Ganguly in 2004, against Bangladesh.
His current tally stands at 499, with 318 ODIs and 91 T20Is. He retired from Tests in 2014, having played exactly 90 matches.
In the overall international appearances list, Dhoni stands joint-ninth with Pakistani great Inzamam-Ul-Haq, who retired from international cricket after the 2007 World Cup. Sachin leads the list, with Sri Lankans Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Sanath Jayasuriya following him to complete the first four. Ricky Ponting is the fifth name.
Amongst active international players, the next person after Dhoni in the list is West Indies' Chris Gayle at the 18th rank, who has played a total of 440 games. Pakistan's Shoaib Malik has so far played 398 games.
T20I experience wise, MS Dhoni leads the list for India, having played 91 of the 101 games that the Men in Blue have played in the shortest format. He made his T20I debut in India's first ever Twenty20 game, against South Africa back in 2006.
Team India currently leads the series 1-0, having won the first game at Manchester with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory.
Here's the list -
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (1989-2013) -- 664
#2 Mahela Jayawardene (1997-2015) -- 652
#3 Kumar Sangakkara (2000-2015) -- 594
#4 Sanath Jayasuriya (1989-2011) -- 586
#5 Ricky Ponting (1995-2012) -- 560
#6 Shahid Afridi (1996-2018) -- 524
#7 Jacques Kallis (1995-2014) -- 519
#8 Rahul Dravid (1996-2012) -- 509
#9 Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2004-) -- 499
#10 Inzamam-Ul-Haq (1991-2007) -- 499