A giant cut-out of former India captain MS Dhoni was installed by his fans in Andhra Pradesh to celebrate his 42nd birthday. The veteran wicketkeeper-batter turned 42 on Friday and wishes have poured in from all corners for the legendary India captain. Dhoni, who led India to ICC T20 World Cup 2007, ICC ODI World Cup 2011 and ICC Champions Trophy 2013, enjoys a huge fan following. During the recently concluded IPL season, fans thronged the stadium in huge numbers to catch a glimpse of 'captain cool'.
Videos and images have been surfacing on social media in which Dhoni's cut-out could be seen standing tall in Andhra Pradesh's Nandigama. Fans were seen offering milk on the cut-out to celebrate Dhoni's birthday.
The 42-year-old had announced his international retirement in August 2020. In Test cricket, Dhoni played 90 matches, scoring 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. He scored six centuries and 33 half-centuries, with the best score of 224. He is the 14th-highest scorer for India in Tests.
However, Dhoni's strongest format was the ODIs. In 350 ODIs, he scored 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57. He scored 10 centuries and 73 fifties for India, with the best score of 183*.
He is India's fifth-highest scorer in ODIs (with Sachin Tendulkar at the top with 18,426 runs). He is also the 11th most successful ODI batter of all time.
The fact that he managed to score 10,000-plus runs at an average of over 50 while coming down the order makes his statistics even more astonishing.
He also played 98 T20Is for India, scoring 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60, at a strike rate of 126.13. He has two half-centuries in the format, with the best score of 56.
(With ANI Inputs)