Born: July,7 1981, Ranchi, Jharkand
Also known as: Mahi
Major Teams: India, Asia XI, Jharkand, Chennai Super Kings
Batting Style: Right-hand batsman
Bowling Style: Right-hand medium bowler
Fielding position: Wicket Keeper
Born to Pan Singh and Devki Devi in 1981, Mahendra Singh Dhoni or 'Mahi' was the youngest of three children. His father, the MECON employee, moved to Ranchi from Almora (in what is now Uttarakhand), and Mahi's brother Narendra Jayanti and sister have also made their homes in Ranchi.
Though he lists among his childhood Sachin Tendulkar Idols, young Mahi was actually the Goalkeeper for the football team in his school (DAV School, Ranchi), and he was likewise excellent at badminton. In fact, he was selected for the district and club level in both these sports. But all that changed when his football instructor Mr KR Banerjee sent him to play cricket for a local club.
He had not really played cricket until that time, but Mahi provided immediate evidence of his Wicket-keeping skills and became the regular keeper for the Commando Cricket Club (1995-98). Based on his cricket club performances, he was picked for the 1997-98 Vino Mankad Trophy U-16 Championship and did very well indeed. Football's loss became cricket's gain thus, Mahi and made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in 1999-2000 as an 18-year-old, coming through the ranks of the Bihar and East Zone U-19 squads.
Today, Mahendra Singh Dhoni typifies savage Batting Wicket keeping and athletic on the cricket field, while off it, his rugged handsomeness, natural sense of style and easy smile have earned him a vast fan base, a large percentage of it female. Ask him how he handles all the female adulation, and his typical response is to grin and, "I do not know much about it. Why do not you ask the girls?" Shy guy!
But there's nothing shy about his approach to cricket. "I feel we [Cricketers from small towns] are Tougher than players from meters. In Ranchi, there were no Academies, Gyms good, or high-profile coaches, so we had to learn cricket the hard way. But I never wanted to be anything but a sportsman, "he says. The same determination is evident in his approach to Batting. "Mind, strategy and attitude are important. You can not let anything affect you during the match. You have to improve your own game to stay ahead in this world," is his dictum.
There's fire in that belly, and the world can not get enough of it! Like his role models and Adam Gilchrist Tendulkar, Mahi himself has become an inspiration for millions of young Indians. His message for them: "Never give up."
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