International debut
December 2004: Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his international debut against Bangladesh in an ODI at Chittagong. (Photo credit: Farjana K. Godhuly/AFP/Getty Images)
A star is born
Dhoni first shot to fame when he was promoted to the number 3 spot against Pakistan in Vizag and he smashed his first ODI hundred smashing 148 off 123 balls. (Photo credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)
October 2005
Promoted up the order to accelerate scoring, Dhoni smashed an unbeaten 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka in Jaipur, the then record of the highest individual score in ODI cricket in the second innings. (Photo credit: Raveendran/AFP/Getty Images)
December 2005
Dhoni made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Chennai. (Photo credit: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images)
ODI captaincy
September 2007: Dhoni took over ODI captaincy duties from Rahul Dravid. (TOI Photo)
September 2007
Dhoni led a young Indian side to victory against Pakistan in the final of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)
2008
Dhoni led India to their first-ever ODI series victory in Australia and the first-ever bilateral ODI series victory in Sri Lanka and soon after won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. (Photo credit: Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images)
November 2008
Dhoni made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final Test against Australia at Nagpur, replaces Anil Kumble who was injured in the third Test. (TOI Photo)
March 2009
Dhoni led India to their first bilateral ODI series victory in New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
December 2009
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India topped the ICC Test cricket rankings for the first time. (TOI Photo)
April 2011
Dhoni played his most memorable match-winning unbeaten knock -- 91 off 79 balls -- against Sri Lanka in the World Cup final to help India lift the trophy after 28 years. (TOI Photo)
March 2013
Dhoni became the most successful Indian Test captain, overtaking Sourav Ganguly's record of 21 victories in 49 Tests. (Photo credit: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images)
June 2013
India won the ICC Champions Trophy under Dhoni's captaincy, beating England by five runs in the final. Dhoni became the first captain to win all three ICC trophies. (Photo by Christopher Lee-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
February 2013
Dhoni powered his way to his first double hundred in Tests. He scores 224 off 365 balls, most runs by an Indian wicketkeeper in an innings going past Budhi Kunderan's 192. (TOI Photo)
March 2013
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India beat Australia 4-0 at home for the first time in a Test series. (TOI Photo)
The End
Dhoni quit Tests in 2014 and did not play for the national side since India's World Cup semi-final loss against New Zealand in England last year -- his 350th ODI. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Most international matches as captain
Dhoni holds the record for most international matches played as captain (332) and his 195 international stumpings is also the most by any wicket-keeper. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Indian cricket's poster boy
From humble beginnings in Ranchi, before working as a ticket collector on the railways in Kharagpur in West Bengal, to Indian cricket's poster boy with a fleet of superbikes, Dhoni's life has even been chronicled in a Bollywood biopic. (TOI Photo)
Sports Superstar
Dhoni's countless endorsement deals and TV ads not only made him a sports superstar to rival Sachin Tendulkar but also put him in the Forbes list of the world's richest athletes. (TOI Photo)
Captain Cool
Hard-hitting, unruffled no matter the pressure, the record of 'Captain Cool' -- and India's most successful captain --- will be virtually impossible to beat. (Getty Images)