M.S.D.🏏 [Curriculum Vitae]

Ch.2 ▪︎Personal Life

Born on 7th July 1981 Ranchi [Jharkhand]- India, identifies himself as a Hindu Rajput. Dhoni's parents moved from Uttarakhand [village Lwali in the Lamgara block of the Almora District] to Ranchi. Dhoni has a sister Jayanti Gupta and a brother Narendra Singh Dhoni.
Dhoni married on 4 July 2010 with Sakshi Singh Rawat, his schoolmate, a native of Dehradun, Uttarakhand. At the time of their marriage, she was studying hotel management and was working as a trainee at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata. Dhoni became a father on 6 February 2015 to a baby girl named Ziva. At the time of her birth, Dhoni was in Australia as the captain of Indian team with 2015 Cricket World Cup. He decided not to travel back to India and was famously quoted saying that "I am on national duty, other things can wait".

He is a fan of Adam Gilchrist, and his childhood idols were Sachin Tendulkar, Amitabh Bachchan and Lata Mangeshkar. Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Old friend of MS Dhoni, Arun Pandey:

The foundation of their friendship was laid nearly two decades ago when Dhoni was hardly a known face. For Pandey, it was hard for him to classify that one moment he would call 'best' in his life, because he feels several things come unexpectedly and before you know it, they acquire a place in your heart.

~"There are too many of them. But since you insist... let's say well it happened back in 2001..or 2002. I guess.. (he said tentatively) I was a resident of Delhi then. Dhoni was very fond of burgers, milkshakes from McDonald's. We used to live at Lodhi Colony. He used to borrow my bike to visit a McDonald's near South Extension. While buying his share of the meal, he also bought the similar share for me. I was really touched by this gesture from him. I was touched by these little acts of generosity. These acts of kindness were not his one-time thing, and if I start, the list would never end, it's these little sweet memories that really touched me".

~Pandey also shared another moment when Dhoni was the only person in the team to own a mobile phone. The year 2001, when people considered cell phones a luxury. More than Dhoni, it was his teammates who used his phone. But the man never complained. Such silent gestures only went on to signify the humble background he came from. "You see he comes from a grounded family. Even now for them, small gestures matter more than big ones,"

~"I consider myself very fortunate to be associated with someone so humble and inspiring. Dhoni inspired me in a lot of ways. Even now when I feel puzzled in life, I often turn to Dhoni for advice. I find peace in his simple answers and solutions. He always encourages me to think about the present first and future later and give my best in whatever I perform"

~"I did not want to be a silent and only witness of this journey anymore. What I really appreciate about him is he still manages to keep his humility despite his popularity. Despite so many changes he is still the humble boy I knew back in 1998. He has not changed at all and I really appreciate that about him. "