One of the most loved and scrutinised cricketers to have ever been born in India - Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the perfect story for every small town boy/girl who wants to make it big in life. Hailing from the cricketing backwaters - Jharkhand, Dhoni is unarguably the second most popular player in the cricket frenzy nation after 'God' Sachin Tendulkar. Going by the statistics, Dhoni is India's most successful captain and under his leadership, India have won the top prize in all formats of the gentlemen's game - the inaugural World Twenty20 on his captaincy debut in 2007, No.1 Test ranking for 18 months starting December 2009, and the 50-over World Cup in 2011 in Mumbai. He is also the first captain in the world to win three different ICC trophies. Dhoni also led India to a memorable 2013 Champions Trophy triumph in England. During his now more than 14-years long international career, Dhoni has played an integral part in many of India's famous victories. For his impressive match-winning skills, the veteran batsman has also been christened with the tag of 'one of the best finishers in the sport', especially in the limited-overs format. However, with age catching up - Dhoni's batting abilities are on the wane but his electric reflexes and impeccable instincts behind the stumps still make him an indispensable asset to Team India. With the countdown of the 2019 ICC World Cup already started, India still needs the services of one of its biggest stalwarts who is responsible for taking the team to insurmountable heights.
Read MoreIndia vice-captain Rohit Sharma said that according to him, MS Dhoni is India's ideal No.4 in ODIs.
Jhye Richardson, who took 4/26 on Saturday in the first ODI against India in Sydney, said that the game could have gone away from Australia if MS Dhoni was not given out at that moment.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the fifth Indian and 13th overall to score 10000 runs in ODI cricket.
After winning a historic Test series a few days ago, India aim to repeat the performance under the lights with the white ball.
This could well be the last time Dhoni is touring the country as an Indian cricketer.
Dhoni's much-vaunted finishing skills are under scrutiny but Rohit said the former captain has it in him to continue being useful with the bat.
Pant's flamboyant batting exploits, however, have impressed Engineer so much that he wondered how the Indian selectors can afford to leave him out for the 2019 World Cup.
MS Dhoni, along with other white-ball specialists including Dhawan, Rohit, Rayudu, Jadhav, Chahal, Karthik and Khaleel, have joined up with the Indian team.
The first match of the three-match ODI series will be played on January 12 at Sydney Cricket Ground.
"Celebrations are going to run long into the night I can assure you," said Kohli
Ponting believes Pant will score more Test centuries than his predecessor Dhoni.
India buried a dispirited Australia under a mountain of runs with Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja adding a dash of strokeful aggression on Day 2 of the final Test.
Kohli took over as India's Test captain four years ago at the same venue after MS Dhoni's shock retirement.
Controversies are part of the game but this year they rose on another level.
Sunil Gavaskar recently had suggested that Dhoni should play a bit of first-class cricket in order to remain match-fit.
Prasad wanted to set the record straight on the eve of the Boxing Day Test, which will feature the Saurashtra all-rounder.
Test pacer Mohammed Shami has also been added to India's ODI squad against Australia and New Zealand, along with No.4 batsman Ambati Rayudu back in action.
Since Dhoni retired from Test cricket, the former captain has been making for lost time with his family.
Chennai Super Kings took to their official Twitter handle to share a fan who has a car licence plate dedicated to the CSK skipper.
MS Dhoni and Sakshi Dhoni's latest pictures are pure couple goals.
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