📍Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
1981 – 2000“Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born in Ranchi, then in Bihar and now the capital of Jharkhand, in July 1981. His father, Pan Singh, had come from Uttarakhand to work as a junior pump operator for MECON, a public-sector engineering company, and the family lived in a small flat in the company's staff colony in the Doranda area of Ranchi, right next to the MECON stadium, where his father worked. His mother, Devaki, kept the home, and he has an older brother and sister. At DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, he was mad about football and badminton, and he was the star goalkeeper of the school football team. When he was about twelve, his sports teacher, Keshab Banerjee, saw his reflexes in goal and asked him to keep wicket for the school cricket team. He took to it immediately, and soon he was hitting the ball harder than anyone around him. He played for local clubs around Ranchi, and the playing fields of the MECON colony, where he had grown up, became his training ground. After school, to support his family, he took a job as a travelling ticket examiner with Indian Railways at Kharagpur station in West Bengal from 2001 to 2003, playing cricket for the railways in his spare time. In 2004 he made his debut for India, and with his long hair and fearless hitting he became a star. As captain he led India to victory in the World T20 in 2007, the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He still lives in Ranchi, where his story was told in the film M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
🛰️ Satellite view · © Google