Dhoni led the 'Men In Blue' to their second ICC World Cup win at the ICC 2011 World Cup on home soil ending a 28-year long wait and followed it up with a Champions Trophy title in 2013. He ended up winning more one day international matches (110) than any other Indian skipper ever and the Indian unit enjoyed a great degree of success at the very pinnacle of the white ball than under any of their previous skippers.
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India also lifted the Asia Cup twice (2010 and 2016) and won notable multi-nation tournaments like the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia and Tri-nation tournaments in Sri Lanka and the West Indies.
Dhoni was fortunate to inherit a star studded team from his predecessor Sourav Ganguly, who is rightful hailed across the Indian cricket fraternity as the skipper to have build the very foundations of a strong Indian and infuse a winning attitude into the sub continent giants.
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While established stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh formed part of the ODI team under Dhoni's aegis, 'Mahi' like Ganguly built a culture of grooming highly talented youngsters like Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who went onto become the match winners for India in white ball cricket
As Dhoni marks and end to an era in Indian cricket with his retirement, let us don the selectors hat to pick the Best Indian Playing XI under MS Dhoni in ODI cricket.
Openers
Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma
Dhoni was spoilt for choices with world class openers when he took over the reins of the ODI team from Sourav Ganguly. From Sachin Tendulkar to Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir to Rohit Sharma, he had a mouth watering list of world class openers at his disposal.
During his early stint as Indian skipper, Sachin-Sehwag and Sehwag-Gambhir opening duos forged highly successful opening partnership under Dhoni and played an instrumental role in the home team's winning campaign at the 2011 World Cup.
Once Sachin and Sehwag bid adieu to the game, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma formed a deadly opening duo for India in ODIs under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. 'Hitman' and Gabbar were lethal up the order and provided the pyrotechnics to get the team off to some real fliers and build on a strong foundation.Both the right handed openers had a penchant to score consistently and that too at a fair click, notch up big hundreds and more importantly raise their game at major ICC events.
Going by sheer longevity and consistency, i would go with Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir as the two openers in India's ODI XI under MS Dhoni.
Gautam Gambhir Matches: 105 Runs: 3699 Avg: 38.93 100s: 6 50s: 28
Rohit Sharma Matches: 122 Runs: 3678 Avg: 35.70 100s: 7 50s: 21
2. Formidable Middle Order
Virat King Kohli The Chase Master , Yuvraj Singh The Accelerator
Dhoni's ODI brigade had one of the most formidable middle order with a galaxy of match winners in their own merit. While Virat Kohli rose in stature to become the highly prolific run scoring machine and consistent ton maker at No.3, the flamboyant Yuvraj Singh followed at 4 and could change the course of a game with his belligerent and eye pleasing stroke play.
While 'Chase Master' Kohli excelled as a innings builder and held fort at one end to anchor the innings to master many chases with effortless ease, Yuvraj Singh with his natural ball striking ability provided impetus to the innings and often proved to be the match winner for India at major ICC tournaments...
Virat Kohli: M: 138 Runs 5703 Avg 50.91 100s - 19 50s - 27
Yuvraj Singh: M: 104 Runs: 3077 Avg: 36.20 100s: 6 50s: 21
MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina - The Finishers Par Excellence
The hard hitting southpaw Suresh Raina and the skipper MS Dhoni himself were the best bets at No 5 and No 6 to finish off nerve wrecking chase and they often did with clinical perfection. Both Raina and Dhoni were brutal assaulters with their pugnacious power hitting and powered India to many memorable wins. Dhoni's uncanny knack of taking the game deep and timing his onslaught to perfection was simply breathtaking and unmatched in the ODI arena
MS Dhoni: Matches: 200 Runs 6641 Avg: 53.55 100s - 6 50s - 47
SK Raina: Matches: 153 Runs 4362 Avg: 38.94 100s - 5 100s - 30
3. Ravindra Jadeja - The All Seasoned All-Rounder
India's ODI unit did have depth and balance under Dhoni with some fine all-rounders who contributed meaningfully with the willow and the red cherry. Spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was perhaps India's most valuable all-rounder who chipped in with runs at No. 7 or No. 8 and lent depth to the spin bowling armory alongside front-line off spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Not a big turner of the cricket ball , Jadeja was relentless with his line and cramped batsman with his nagging accuracy and quickness off the air.
Ravindra Jadeja - M: 101 Runs: 1469 Batting Avg: 29.38 Wickets 115
4. Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh - The Spin Kings
Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh were the spin kings for the 'Men In Blue' in limited overs cricket under Dhoni's captaincy. Ashwin especially had a bagful of variations and tricks up his sleeve to bamboozle the batsmen and pick up those prized scalps in the opposition's batting lineup. From the 'Doosra' to the 'Caroom Ball', the spin wizards mastered it all and used them with great deception with their stock off spin delivery.
Ashwin and 'Bhajji' were also handy batsmen who made meaningful contributions with the bat lower down the order. Besides Ashwin and Jadeja; Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla were always among the wickets whenever they got a look into the ODI team and doned the blue Jersey.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Virender Sehwag played a pivotal role as part time spinners by always chipping in with a wicket or two to add depth to the spin attack in the Dhoni-led ODI team.
Ravinchandran Ashwin M: 78 Runs: 499 Avg: 16.63 Wickets: 105
5. Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Shami Pace Spearheads In Well Rounded Seam Attack
Indians had a decent seam bowling attack in ODIs under Dhoni's captaincy with a good blend of seam and swing bowlers.When Dhoni took over the ODI captaincy, he had the seam maestro Zaheer Khan who led the seam attack with distinction. 'Zak' along with the likes of Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan made for a well rounded seam attack.
Once Dhoni settled in as a skipper, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Praveen Kumar had the ability to swing the new ball and strike early blows into the opposition, Mohammad Shami was highly effective with his seam movement and skills to reverse the old ball. Meanwhile, tearway seamer Umesh Yadav added that zip to the fast bowling unit with his menacing pace.
Zaheer Khan M: 63 Wickets: 90 Avg: 30.68 SR: 36.3
Mohammed Shami M: 37 Wickets: 72 Avg: 23.4 SR: 24.9
Umesh Yadav M: 45 Wickets: 62 Avg: 35.41 SR: 34.9
INDIA's DREAM ODI XI UNDER MS DHONI
Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir,Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (Captain and wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav
Reserves - Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh,Praveen Kumar,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma
Notable Contributors During Dhoni's stint as ODI skipper
Ajinkya Rahane, Dinesh Karthik, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan
India's ODI Record Under MS Dhoni
Played - 200
Won - 110
Win Percentage - 59.52%
Note: The author has used his subjective discretion to select the Best ODI XI under MS Dhoni based on parameters like consistency of a player's performance with the bat or ball, being the best fit in their respective position considering team dynamics and their ability to muti-task and add depth to the team.