MS Dhoni

The spectacular arrival of Virender Sehwag was bound to inspire others to bat with the same mindset. But the odds of a clone emerging from the backwaters of Jharkhand, whose state side has consistently scraped the bottom, was highly remote. That was until Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived. He can be swashbuckling with the bat and secure with the wicketkeeping gloves. His neck-length hair adds to his dash. Though Dhoni made his first-class debut in the 1999-2000 season, it was only in 2004 that he became a serious contender for national selection with some stirring performances when the occasion demanded - a rapid hundred which helped East Zone clinch the Deodhar Trophy and an audacious 60 in the Duleep Trophy final. But it was with his two centuries against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, that he established himself as a clinical destroyer of bowling attacks. In just his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, he cracked a dazzling 148 - putting even Sehwag in the shade - and followed that up with a colossal 183 not out at Jaipur against Sri Lanka in November, when he broke Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs.

Full name	Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born	July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Major teams	India, Jharkhand
Batting style	Right-hand bat
Fielding Position	Wicketkeeper

Career statistics
Test debut	India v Sri Lanka at Chennai - Dec 2-6, 2005
ODI debut	Bangladesh v India at Chittagong - Dec 23, 2004
First-class span	1999/00 - 2005/06
List A span	1999/00 - 2005/06