It's been 15 long years since former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni debuted against Bangladesh in the international cricket saga - and overwhelmed Indians took to social media to shower heartfelt tributes to their former captain.
Donning his famous jersey number seven, Dhoni captained the Indian national cricket team in limited-over formats from 2007 to 2016 and in test cricket from 2008 to 2014.
As part of the social media celebrations, #15YearsOfDhoni was trending on Twitter and Instagram in India as fans poured love on the cricketer.
On this day in 2004, a 23 year old keeper batsman made his debut against Bangladesh. Rest, as they say is history. Best keeper batsman till date. #15YearsofDhoni @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/fyX31D2gm6
— Sharan Anirudh (@SharanAnirudh) December 23, 2019
As Batsman
— Praveen Prakash (@Praveen94300) December 23, 2019
- Most runs batting at no.5 & below
- Most runs as Keeper-Captain
- Most notouts
- Most sixes as Keeper & Captain
As WK
- Most Stumpings in Intl & IPL
- Most dismissals in T20s
-Most innings as Keeper
As CAP
-Well u know everything#15YearsOfDhonism#15YearsofDhoni pic.twitter.com/aqsiJNq0IL
Man with billion love...♥️😍😻😻😻....#15YearsofDhoni pic.twitter.com/VxWzFI9EBW
— Gopikrishnan Sivakumar😎🔥 (@iamGk) December 23, 2019
#15YearsofDhoni #Thalapathy64
— ɬɧąƖą℘ąɬɧყ•ɱʂɖ (@itz_pckaran) December 23, 2019
No one can replace for you thala....🤩
Captain cool
The finisher
E.t.c.
ICON OF BILLIONS #DHONI.. pic.twitter.com/II3Rg7h5sf
This man made bowlers & batsman to think twice to move forward when he is in strike & when he is behind the stumps...#ChummaKizhi #15YearsOfDhoni pic.twitter.com/NOLhuUDkUM
— Roney (@roney619roney) December 23, 2019
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The railway-ticket collector-turned-cricketer, who was out for a golden duck in his first ever One Day International match (ODI) against Bangladesh in 2004, ended up becoming the only Indian captain to have led India into winning three major ICC tournaments – the World Cup (2011), the T20 World Cup (2007) and the Champions Trophy (2013).
Bollywood paid tribute to the ex-Indian team captain in 2016 by adapting Dhoni’s real life story and turning it into a blockbuster movie titled “MS Dhoni – The Untold Story”, featuring actor Sushant Singh Rajput as the former skipper.
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Dhoni has not sweated on the grounds of international cricket since India lost the semi-final match in the 2019 World Cup.
Earlier in November, speculations around Dhoni’s quick retirement plans began making the rounds on social media. However, the athlete has not yet officially addressed his intentions on any future association with cricket.
