"May you always fly high like your helicopter shots"- MS Dhoni receives special wishes as he turns 42

The cricket community extended warm wishes to legendary Indian cricketer MS Dhoni as he turned 42 today, July 7. He retired from international cricket in 2020 after a 16-year storied career.

He played 538 matches for India across formats and scored 17266 runs at an average of 44.96, including 16 centuries and 108 fifties.

Dhoni etched his name in the folklore as one of the best captains of all time with his accomplishments during his leadership tenure. He became the first captain in 2013 to win all the ICC major trophies (2007 T20 World Cup, 2011ODI World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy).

MS Dhoni is still active in IPL as he recently led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to their fifth trophy in May. Much to the delight of his ardent fans, he revealed that IPL 2023 was not his farewell season and will try to return next year if he remains fit.

On the occasion of his 42nd birthday, Dhoni's former teammates and other members of the cricket fraternity and fans were quick to wish him on social media. His teammates from 2011-World Cup-winning Indian side Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag led the way with special posts.

Here are some of the wishes:

---

If you leave MS Dhoni out of that team, I don’t think CSK will remain the same CSK without doubt: Wasim Jaffer

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer recently attributed CSK's success over the years to MS Dhoni's astute captaincy and presence.

The Yellow franchise is arguably the most consistent side in the history of IPL, as they have reached the finals and playoffs most times when compared to their peers. They also won the IPL five times, a feat matches only by Mumbai Indians.

In an interaction with Sportskeeda, Jaffer shed light on Dhoni's importance in CSK set-up, saying:

“CSK’s success is attached to Dhoni. If you leave MS Dhoni out of that team, I don’t think CSK will remain the same CSK without doubt. Taking such a team and leading them to an IPL trophy win, only Dhoni can do it.”

Wasim Jaffer backed his views by citing some difficult scenarios CSK overcame during IPL 2023. He added:

“They had very limited resources this year, especially if you look at their bowling. There is Tushar Deshpande, he’s played IPL, but had no success [before]. Matheesha Pathirana was new, while Akash Singh played the initial games. Deepak Chahar got injured for half of the tournament."

He also said:

“To win the IPL with such a bowling attack, only MS Dhoni can do it. Only he knows how to best utilize the resources available. CSK’s success is because of him. Take Dhoni away and they will struggle to make the qualifiers.”