Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived in Chennai on March 3, 2025 ahead of the next IPL season. IPL 2025 could well be his last season after fans decoded a Morse code on his shirt reads “One Last Time”.
Fans are hoping for a remarkable farewell season for Dhoni as one of the competition’s best players ever after setting and smashing several records in IPL history.
Let’s check out three (3) of the most impossible records set by MS Dhoni in the IPL. The sheer difficulty required to break these records make them seem impossible for any other IPL player to surpass. See the great feats achieved by Dhoni in the IPL and other remarkable records set in international cricket by the star wicketkeeper-batter.
1. First Captain to Win a Century of IPL Matches
Dhoni became the first-ever captain in IPL history to win 100 games. He set this milestone when he led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to a hard-fought win over the Rajasthan Royals at IPL 2019. Dhoni’s heroics at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on April 12, 2019 set a remarkable record several cricketers cannot get to as captains.
MS Dhoni’s overall record involved 95 wins for CSK and 5 victories for Rising Pune Super-giants (RPS) at the time. He has since surpassed that record with now over 120 victories under his belt as an IPL captain. Dhoni stepped down from captain’s duties after IPL 2023.
2. Most Games as Skipper in IPL History
Dhoni handed CSK’s captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of IPL 2024, but not before setting a seemingly-unbreakable record. He now has a record 226 matches as skipper across IPL seasons. Dhoni has played in 260+ matches overall, another mammoth haul among players in the competition.
3. Oldest Skipper to Win an IPL
Lifting the IPL 2023 trophy at 43 years and 325 days old made MS Dhoni the oldest captain to ever win this title. His leadership was enough to see CSK through against a Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans during the 2023 final. His achievement as the oldest IPL-winning skipper smashed his older record set as a 40-year-old winner in 2021.
BONUS: 5+ Major MS Dhoni International Records
1. Skipper with 3 ICC titles in 6 years
Dhoni set several remarkable milestones as Team India captain. One of such achievements was his ability to lead the Men in Blue to three (3) ICC titles in different competitions within 6 years.
Dhoni was instrumental to India’s trophies at the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Few captains can boast of such a rapid title haul within such a short cycle.
2. 10,000+ international runs as a lower-order batsman
MS Dhoni put together some of cricket’s most impressive performances as an international batting in the lower order. He bagged over 10,000 runs while batting at no. 6 or below for most of his international career.
Dhoni’s record remains a truly remarkable feat as he was able to stabilize innings and accelerate run-scoring without being a regular in the top order. He was adaptable as an international and continued to deliver from a lower batting position until his retirement.
3. Most stumpings in international cricket
Dhoni performed some of India’s best glovework ever as a wicketkeeper. The veteran bagged more stumpings than other players in his era by managing a remarkable 195 dismissals throughout 608 innings.
His agile wicketkeeping abilities coupled with sharp reflexes contributed greatly to India’s dominant performances in internationals.
4. Most international games as skipper
Dhoni captained India on 332 occasions across formats. The talented skipper led Men in Blue players in ODIs, T20Is, and red-ball cricket as an international. His remarkable leadership ability is a major reason why he stayed on as skipper for so long in a team loaded with many star players.
5. Only captain to finish World Cup final with a six and claim victory
Dhoni almost single-handedly secured the 2011 ODI World Cup title for India with his spell-binding six at the final. He concluded the game with a swashbuckling hit to send fans into a frenzy as India clinched another international honour. No other captain has been able to conclude proceedings at a World Cup final the way Dhoni did in 2011.
6. Most unbeaten batsman in ODIs
Ending 84 innings without a dismissal sounds unreal, but Dhoni achieved this feat as an international cricketer. He marshalled 84 ODI innings without getting beaten as a batsman while commanding proceedings in Team India’s favour.
