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Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has hailed Indian legend MS Dhoni as a player who has won matches with the bat, with his keeping as well as captaincy. He said that the Jharkhand-born stumper deserves all the adulation he gets because there has never been a player like him in India.
Former India captain and Chennai Super Kings superstar Dhoni is celebrating his 43rd birthday on Sunday, July 7. He represented India in 538 matches, amassing 17266 runs across the three formats of the game, with 16 hundreds and 108 fifties.
Even after retiring from international cricket in 2020, Dhoni continues to get the kind of adoration that few in Indian cricket have got before or after him. Crowds have thronged stadiums to get a glimpse of him in the Indian Premier League. Reacting to Dhoni-mania, Akram, during an interaction on Sportskeeda's Match Ki Baat, said:
"As a cricketer, he has won the World Cup, Champions Trophy - all the major (white-ball) trophies.
"Wherever he goes, be it Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Punjab, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, the stadium erupts. And it must, why not? There has never been such a cricketer, such a captain in India."
Akram pointed out that Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are among the few Indian players who get such a warm reception from fans.
"On and off the field, he has led from the front. He has won matches with his batting, keeping and captaincy.
"If Dhoni doesn't get such a reception, then who will get? Sachin used to get it, Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma - these are four big names in Indian cricket. Definitely, Dhoni deserves the kind of adulation that he gets," the 58-year-old concluded.
Apart from his exploits at the international level, Dhoni has also featured in 264 IPL matches, scoring 5243 runs at an average of 39.13 and a strike rate of 137.54, with 24 half-centuries. He has also led CSK to five titles.
How MS Dhoni rang in his 43rd birthday
Dhoni cut his birthday cake in the early hours of July 7 in the presence of his wife Sakshi and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Sakshi shared a video of the cake-cutting celebration where she's seen touching her husband's feet in a lighthearted moment.
A picture and video of Salman at Dhoni's birthday celebrations also went viral on social media. The birthday boy later received a video call from CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mukesh Kumar and Tushar Deshpande, who are in Zimbabwe with Gaikwad, were also seen in the video call.
