Dhoni is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. Dhoni is one of the wicket-keepers who have come through the ranks of junior and India A cricket teams to represent the national team - Parthiv Patel, Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Karthik being the others. Dhoni, referred to as 'Mahi' by his friends, debuted in the Bihar cricket team during the 1998/99 cricket season and was selected to represent India-A for a tour to Kenya in 2004. Along with Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni made multiple centuries against the Pakistan-A team in a tri-nation series and was selected in the Indian national team later in that year.
Dhoni scored 148 against Pakistan in his fifth ODI match in 2005 - then the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper. Later in the year, he broke his own record as well as set the current world record for the highest score in the second innings in ODI matches as he scored 183* against Sri Lanka. Dhoni's success in the limited overs format secured him a place in the test team and coincidentally he made his maiden test century in his fifth Test match, when he scored 148 against Pakistan. Consistent performances in ODI cricket through the end of the 2005/06 season saw Dhoni ranked as the No. 1 batsman in the ICC ODI ratings briefly.
Dhoni's form dipped through 2006 as India lost matches at the ICC Champions trophy, DLF Cup, away bilateral series against West Indies and South Africa. A return to form in the home series against West Indies and SriLanka in early 2007 proved to be an inaccurate indicator of Dhoni's form as India crashed out of the first round in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Dhoni was out for duck in both India's losses. After the World Cup, Dhoni won the Man of the series award in the bilateral ODI tournament against Bangladesh. For the tour of England, Dhoni was named the ODI team vice-captain.
A batter, Dhoni has shown the maturity to restrain his aggressive nature and play a responsible innings when the situation requires.[3] Apart from traditional shots, Dhoni has two very unorthodox but effective cricket strokes. Since his entry into the Indian cricket team, Dhoni's aggressive batting style, success on the field, personality, and long hair have made him one of the most marketable cricketers in India
Indians may have lost out on the nominations for some of the coveted ICC awards, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh and Ishant Sharma were among the nominees in various categories of the awards to be presented in Dubai on Wednesday.
As per the list of nominees announced by ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat here on Monday, Dhoni is among the front-runners for the ODI Player-of-the-Year award. Sachin Tendulkar is also in contention for the honours.
Dhoni has also been nominated in the newly introduced Twenty20 International Performance of the Year category. Other nominees in this category are Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and Brett Lee.
Ishant has been nominated along with Stuart Broad, Ajantha Mendis and Morne Morkel in the Emerging Player of the Year category. Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardene and Dale Steyn have been nominated in two main categories — Cricketer of the Year and Test Player of the Year. Clive Lloyd, Greg Chappell, Shaun Pollock, Sidath Wettimuny and Atahar Ali Khan form the panel of jury. Performances from August 9, 2007 to August 12, 2008 were considered before the names were shortlisted.
The shortlisted names:
Cricketer of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardene, Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn.
Test Player of the Year: Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn.
ODI Player of the Year: Nathan Bracken, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and Mohammad Yousuf.
Emerging Player of the Year: Stuart Broad, Ajantha Mendis, Morne Morkel and Ishant Sharma.
Associate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Alex Obanda, Niall O’Brien and Thomas Odoyo.
Twenty20 International Performance of the Year: Chris Gayle, M.S. Dhoni, Brett Lee and Yuvraj Singh.
Woman Player of the Year: Nicola Browne, Charlotte Edwards, Lisa Sthalekar and Claire Taylor.
Spirit of Cricket: Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies.
Umpire of the Year: Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Rudi Koertzen and Simon Taufel.
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