OTD in 2004: Legendary skipper, India's greatest white ball finisher - MS Dhoni made his international debut

On this day (December 23) 19 years ago, when MS Dhoni made his international cricket debut, no one would have thought it would be a historic recruitment from the selection committee. Even after his first assignment with the Men in Blue, no one would have imagined that this guy from Ranchi would go on to make the nation proud by solving so many problems over the years. 

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Dhoni's selection was aimed at ending India's struggle to produce a consistent performer behind and in front of the stumps. The 23-year-old, making his international debut under Sourav Ganguly in 2004, got off to a worst start. He got into a terrible mixup with Mohammad Kaif while attempting to take a single, resulting in his dismissal on the very first ball. 

With the scoreboard reading 180/5 in 41.4 overs, the right-hander came out to bat after the wicket of Sridharan Sriram. He hit Bangladesh left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique's delivery directly to the hands of short fine-leg fielder and tried to steal a run. Dhoni was sent back by the non-striker as he reached halfway down the wicket. He fell short of the crease as wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud whipped the bails off. 

Watch the video of Dhoni's first-ball duck in international debut: 

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Although Dhoni failed to make an impact, India came out with flying colours by pulling off a thrilling 11-run victory in Chittagong. Despite playing all three matches in the Bangladesh series, he could not make the batting memorable. However, the long-haired youngster announced his arrival in the next series at home against Pakistan, scoring a sensational 148 off 123 balls. 

From ticket collector to trophy collector - Dhoni left behind a great legacy

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Dhoni started as a ticket collector in the Indian Railways and went on to become a cricket legend. His life story is inspiring and he left behind an amazing legacy before the curtain came down on his international career in 2020 August. Fondly known as 'Captain Cool', he led a young team in the inaugural T20 World Cup (2007) in South Africa and achieved a stunning victory. 

He also captained the team in the 2011 ODI World Cup and added another major silverware to India's trophy cabinet. Ravi Shastri's iconic "Dhoni finishes off in style" commentary after the wicket-keeper batter sealed India's victory in the final against Sri Lanka with a six still resonates in the hearts of millions.

He didn't stop there. In 2013, Dhoni led his troop to another international title – the 2013 Champions Trophy in England. In fact, it was the last time India won a major title. The 42-year-old skippered India in 332 games across formats and won 178 with a win percentage of almost 60. Having scored over 17,000 runs in his international career with 16 centuries, Dhoni is considered one of the greatest finishers in white-ball cricket.