Dhoni has always played with his mind and heart: Raina
New Delhi [India], July 7 (ANI): As ace wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni celebrates his 39th birthday today, batsman Suresh Raina on Tuesday said that the former skipper has always played on the cricket field with his mind and heart.
Raina and Dhoni have been involved in various partnerships for the Men in Blue and the duo also represents Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League.
"Here's wishing a very Happy Birthday to one of my favorite human, brother & a leader I could ever ask for! The man who has always played with his mind and heart. His Captaincy has not just been successful because of his decisions but also because of his faith in every member of his team! So cheers to our Special No. 7, who made winning as a habit. Thank you for all the inspiration @mahi7781 Bhai," Raina wrote on Instagram.
Fans of the CSK franchise popularly call Dhoni and Raina as 'Thala' and 'Chinna Thala' respectively.
In Tamil, 'Thala' means leader while 'Chinna Thala' means the right hand of the leader.
Dhoni has so far played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka. He also remains the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).
Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field.
Over the years, he has cemented his place as one of the finest wicket-keepers across the world. His agility behind the stumps has given India many breakthroughs as the Ranchi-based wicket-keeper has done successful stumpings in no time.
He is also known for his knack of opting for reviews and many have jokingly remarked to change the 'Decision-Review System's' name to 'Dhoni-Review System'.
In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.
Then in 2017, he handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format. However, the wicket-keeper enjoys a great camaraderie with the latter and the duo have been seen often taking decisions together on the field.
Under Dhoni's leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket. His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has also won the tournament thrice under his leadership.
Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 39-year-old has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup. (ANI)
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