Mahendra Singh was born on July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand. He is an Indian cricketer, an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper.

He is currently ranked third in the official ICC cricket rankings for batsmen in Limited over internationals (as of January 14, 2007) and 71st in the official ICC rankings for batsmen in Test matches.

He was picked to play for the Indian cricket team in December 2004 and has been a regular member of the Indian one-day international team since then. His success in the limited overs format has also secured him a Test spot, and he is rapidly becoming one of the most famous & marketable icons in India, noted for his shoulder length hair.

Dhoni (affectionately known as Mahi), made his debut for Bihar in the 1999-2000 season as an eighteen year old. He started off his career with modest performances at the local level. He was noticed by the national team selectors in 2004 after his performances in first class tournaments such as the Deodhar Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. Dhoni was selected to represent India 'A' on a tour of Kenya and his performances were good enough to win him selection in the Indian national team, making his one-day international debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in December of that year.

Dhoni's best performance for India thus far is an unbeaten score of 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka at Jaipur on 31 October 2005, equalling the second best score by an Indian in ODIs. It was also the highest innings recorded by a wicket-keeper, and the highest number of sixes in an innings for a wicketkeeper with ten (all-rounders Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi have hit 11). He also broke Saeed Anwar's record of most runs scored off boundaries by scoring a total of 120 runs off 4s and 6s eclipsing the previous record of 118. This has broken the record for the highest individual score for a team batting second. This has also established the new Indian record of number of sixes in a match, overtaking previous record holders, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (both hit seven sixes in a match). Earlier, in 2005 he scored 148 against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam, in his fifth one-day international; the score came off only 123 deliveries.

At the end of the year Dhoni was rewarded a BCCI contract, starting with a B-grade contract.

Dhoni's current batting average in ODIs is 44.61 (as of October 2006), the highest by any Indian player with more than 20 innings. With a career ODI batting strike rate of 99 runs per 100 balls, he is one of the quickest scoring players in world cricket. With 46 sixes in 47 ODI innings, Dhoni has hit almost as many sixes as he has played ODI matches.

On 22nd April 2006, Dhoni overtook Ricky Ponting as number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, and however he was soon dethroned, he continues to be in the Top 10.

In the 2006 India tour of the West Indies, where India won the Test series 1-0, Dhoni had an ordinary series, averaging only 24 with the bat; his only score of note was a quick and aggressive 69 in the first Test at Antigua. He also took 13 catches and had 4 stumpings in the series. India were defeated 4-1 in the ODIs that preceded the Test series, where Dhoni averaged only 23.75, his highest score being 46 not out, with 5 catches. Dhoni failed to reach 50 in the subsequent tri-series in Malaysia either, and began his Champions Trophy career in October 2006 with a single digit failure against England at Jaipur.However he followed up with a fifty against the West Indies. His performance against Australia in the next match was also fair, although India were knocked out of the Champion’s trophy.

In 2006 tour of South Africa, India were thrashed 4-0 in the ODI series. However, Dhoni was one of the few batsman who looked in command for whatever duration he was on the crease. The fact that he was the highest scorer in the ODI series for India ( along with highest average and highest strike rate) was totally overlooked due to India’s defeat. However, his gritty innings of 55 played on the bouncy track of Cape Town is worth mentioning. The innings which contained 3 fours and 4 towering sixes, came at a time when India were 44/4 at a stage chasing 275 for a victory. During his stay on the crease along with Rahul Dravid, he even raised visions of an Indian victory, when the remaining Indian batsmen were struggling to stay afloat.However, he was criticized for blowing away chances of India's victory by throwing away his wicket when he looked in command.In the test series that followed, his only contribution of note was an innings of 47 in the second innings of second test while trying to save the match along with tail enders.He was unlucky to miss out the last test due to injury.

In the 2007 ODI series against the West Indies, which India won 3-1, dhoni was his normal destructive self, slamming an unbeaten 62 off 42 balls in Nagpur ODI and unbeaten 40 off 20 balls at Vadodara ODI in his characteristic whirlwind style. This took him to the third rank in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen.