India’s Test captain Virat Kohli on Friday said departing limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has always been a leader a youngster would love to be with.

Dhoni on Wednesday stepped down as India’s One-Day International (ODI) and T20 International (T20I) captain, bringing the curtain down on his illustrious era when the Ranchi stumper won both the ODI and T20 World Cups.

Kohli wrote on Twitter

Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You’ll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 6, 2017

India are scheduled to play England in three ODIs and three T20Is, starting from January 15.

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IANS

India’s World Cup winning coach Gary Kirsten threw his weight behind current limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying removing the stumper from the helm could invite trouble for the team in the shorter formats of the game.

“You are not going to get an answer out of me. You replace M.S. Dhoni at your peril, because the one experience I have had is that all great leaders have great performances till the end of their careers,” Kirsten said at a promotional event here on Tuesday.

Kirsten said that if one is willing to let Dhoni go, one never knows if India misses out on some potential match-winning performances in 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in England.

“So, if you (are) willing to let M.S. Dhoni go when there might potentially be a great World Cup performance left in him if he goes to the (2019) World Cup, which I am not sure if he is (taking part in) or not, you take the risk of doing that,” the former South Africa opener said.

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Terming Dhoni as a “great player”, Kirsten poured cold water on his critics, saying those doubting his ability are making a mistake.

“I think that is the question I get asked the most everytime I come to India. My answer hasn’t changed in three years. That he (Dhoni) is definitely the best leader I have ever worked with. And his record for Indian cricket over the last nine-ten years speaks for itself,” said the South African when asked about the debate surrounding Dhoni’s future.

“There is no debating in my opinion that he is up there with India’s greatest captains and certainly has produced the trophies for India in his time,” added Kirsten who was India’s coach when Dhoni and company lifted the World Cup in 2011.

According to Kirsten, Dhoni’s record in limited overs cricket spoke for itself.

“You just have to look at his ODI batting record as well, As a finisher, it’s unsurpassed in the world in terms of the position he bats in. So, if anyone is doubting his ability, I think they would be making a great mistake.

“He is a great player and all great players would continue to produce fantastic performances through their career. It’s exciting to see him doing well and having success with the Indian team. I enjoyed working with him and it was a great experience for me,” he added.

Kirsten feels it should be left to the Ranchi star to decide on his future.

“There comes a time in every player when he is got to consider for himself whether he should be in the team or it’s time to move. We will leave the decision up to him,” he said.

To a query whether Dhoni should consistently bat higher up the order as he did in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand when he batted at No.4, Kirsten said he was capable of batting in a lot many positions.

“That discussion is going on for eight years. He does (have) an ODI batting average of over 50. He can bat in lot of different positions.

“When I was with the Indian team, I encouraged rotational batting order, where we batted according to the situation rather than this is your batting position today. M S was brilliant at that, he didn’t mind where he batted.”

“I always liked him to come in when we needed 100 runs to win because there was no one better (than him) in the world (who) could have won a game from that position, speaking from my experience. But he often liked to get up little bit earlier, so that he can have more time at the wicket and help himself to a hundred. M.S. Dhoni could pretty much bat anywhere in the batting order,” Kirsten explained further.

Kirsten also hailed the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to use the Decision Review System (DRS) in the upcoming Test series against England after having consistently opposing it in the past.

“If they (BCCI) are going to try it, its brilliant. It is a great technology, and it’s got better and better. It will be great for every Test playing country to use the technology”.

IANS

“MS Dhoni – The Untold Story”, a film on the life of cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has minted over Rs 112 crore since its release on September 30, becoming the biggest earning biopic in Indian cinema, claim its makers.

Produced by Fox Star Studios and Arun Pandey of Inspired Entertainment, the film, directed by Neeraj Pandey, narrates Dhoni’s journey from the lanes of Ranchi to his becoming the captain of the Indian cricket team.

It collected Rs 3.40 crore on Monday (October 10), taking the total to Rs 112.70 crore.

Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios, said in a statement: “‘MS Dhoni – The Untold Story’ is now the highest earning biopic ever made (in Indian cinema). This goes to show the love people have for Mahi and how they have been discovered, adopted and promoted the film.

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“We are truly humbled with the response from his fans, cricket lovers and movie audiences alike.”

According to the statement, issued on behalf of the film’s makers, the demand for the shows have increased despite big releases like “Mirzya” and “Tutak Tutak Tutiya”.

The film stars Sushant Singh Rajput in the title role, and also features Kiara Advani, Disha Patani and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles.

IANS

“M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” — a biopic on India’s star skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni — has netted Rs 66 crore on its opening weekend at the Indian box office besides receiving an overwhelming response overseas also, the makers have said.

Directed by Neeraj Pandey, the film features Sushant Singh Rajput in the title role. He has been lauded for his form and performance as a cricketer, and fans of Dhoni as well as the actor have been increasing the footfalls at the theatres for it.

According to a statement issued on behalf of the film’s makers, it “scored a massive number over the weekend, showing a huge jump and collecting Rs 24.10 crore on Sunday (Oct 2)”.

On its opening day on Friday (September 30), the movie collected Rs 21.3 crore, and on the following day, it made Rs 20.6 crore. Its Sunday collections have taken the total to Rs 66 crore.

“Owing to an overwhelming word of mouth from across the city, the weekend total is Rs 66 crore nett,” read the statement.

The makers claim “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” has managed the second highest weekend collections of 2016 in India after Salman Khan starrer “Sultan”.

Also Read : ‘Craze for Dhoni biopic more than any sportsman-based film’

“The film has opened exceptionally well. It has lived upto the expectations of all pre-release hype. The film is getting an overwhelming response from the audiences. Weekend occupancy of the film was over 75 percent at INOX,” said Rajender Singh, Vice President – Programming and Distribution, Inox Leisure Ltd.

Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted: “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story” is sensational… Packs a solid total.”

The producers are happy with the film’s performance in the international market too. It made $1.1 million in the US, $24,000 in Britain, $1.2 million from the Middle East and $193,000 in Australia, the makers said.

With this, it earned an estimated opening weekend collection of $ 3.3 million abroad, thus making it the fourth highest opening weekend of 2016 after “Sultan” ($ 13.4 million), “Fan” ($ 6 million) and “Houseful 3” ($ 4 million), the makers said.

To celebrate the success, the film’s makers released a video in which Dhoni himself talks about his journey.

“I believe that only cities are small and not the people living in it or their dreams. I believe that a man’s height is measured through his intentions. I believe that only those people talk about destiny, who have never stepped out into the field,” Dhoni says in the little over 30-second promotional video.

“I believe that exhaustion and pressure are only myths. I believe that the distance between winning and loosing is big, but it is not impossible,” he added.

IANS

India’s ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who keenly awaits the release of “M. S. Dhoni: An Untold Story” — a biopic by filmmaker Neeraj Pandey — says at first he was hesitant to give a nod to the project as he thought what kind of a film can be made on him as he doesn’t have any villains in his life.

Sushant Singh Rajput starrer M.S. Dhoni biopic to release on September 2, 2016

The film, which stars Sushant Singh Rajput in the title role, has been co-produced by Dhoni’s longtime friend Arun Pandey. Dhoni, who was in the capital on Tuesday to promote the film along with Sushant, Pandey and Fox Star CEO Vijay Singh, said when Pandey came to him with idea of a biopic, he first took him lightly and felt a bit hesitant.

“I didn’t pay any attention to Arun when he came up with this idea first. But problem took place when he quickly came back and said that we have finalised the deal. So then I couldn’t back off. I thought that making the film will take a lot of time,” Dhoni said in a chat with actor and host Gaurav Kapur. “

After that I opened up and told them what I went through throughout my life. I was born in 1981 – a time when education was given more importance than sports. The good thing was that there was not much family pressure on me. It was more time management.

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“This film is informative in a lot of ways because people, who know me in Ranchi, don’t know what I did in Kharagpur when I lived there for four years. After that from 2004 till now I played internationally. This movie to some extent brings everything together,” he added.

Dhoni said when he was approached for the project, he thought on what context of his life the film will be based on.

“Initially I was thinking what context they will make the movie on. There is no villain in my life. So it’s mainly about decision making and be humble in your life,” he said.

Asked whether he feels pride to be idolised by many or feels the pressure, Dhoni said: “It’s the pride factor more than pressure because I have always believed in taking control of things patiently.

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“To me taking it positively is more important than taking it as a pressure. I always felt great about the fact that I come from a small city and I got a lot of love and affection there.”

“M. S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, which will release in 4,500 screens in India and around 1,000 screens abroad on Friday, will showcase Dhoni’s life from his childhood days till the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

However, Dhoni, 35, said that there should not be a sequel to the film as it will be “very controversial”. “I don’t think we should think about a sequel as it will be very controversial. After 2011 there were only controversies and nothing else (in my life). Nothing else is there. There will be only villains in it,” Dhoni said.

The film also stars Anupam Kher, Rajesh Sharma and Bhumika Chawla.

(With IANS inputs)

The trailer of ‘MS Dhoni – The Untold Story’ is shattering all records as it has garnered 10 million online views within 24 hours of its launch. It also has a phenomenal like-dislike ratio of 99:1, which sets the trailer apart from movies like Sultan and Dilwale.

MS Dhoni’s biopic will show the journey of India’s most successful and decorated cricket captain from the streets of Ranchi to becoming the global sporting icon. Neeraj Pandey has directed the movie with Sushant Singh Rajput essaying the Indian captain on screen.

“I’m humbled with the love that people have showered for the film,” Neeraj Pandey said. “MS Dhoni is an inspiration and an icon for millions and I’m extremely happy that they have liked our effort of tracing the remarkable journey of their favourite cricket captain.”

Also Watch: Dhoni The Untold Story Trailer Launch | MS Dhoni with Sushant

On YouTube, Sultan trailer was viewed 3.33 million times within 24 hours, while it was liked 80000 times. Meanwhile, Dilwale trailer had managed 3.6 million views in 24 hours of its release, with like-dislike ratio of 8:1.

The biopic is slated to hit the big screens on September 30. Kiara Advani is playing Dhoni’s wife in the biopic, while Disha Patani, Anupam Kher and Bhumika Chawala are in prominent roles.

To say the least, the three-minute long Dhoni biopic’s trailer is a gripping one, and has raised expectations from movie.

Also Watch: MS Dhoni reveals unknown secrets of his life

It was a true untold story revealed as Dhoni The Untold Story team of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sushant Singh Rajput and director Neeraj Pandey shared their behind the scenes experiences.

At the trailer launch event It was hilarious as Sushant related an incident of how Dhoni lost his cool, as the actor kept pestering Dhoni. The captain cool was happy to see Sushant mastering the helicopter shot.

Soon the movie MS Dhoni The Untold Story will hit the theatres.

On promotions spree the captain cool revealed unknown secrets of his life. Right from his favourite singers, to his feelings during the last ball of the World Cup wins, to his mantra to remain cool and calm and much much more.  

Sushant Singh Rajput is essaying the role of MS Dhoni in his biopic, but there was a Bollywood superstar, who wanted to play Captain Cool in ‘MS Dhoni – The Untold Story’. That superstar also approached Neeraj Pandey, Dhoni biopic directory, to cast him in the movie.

According to reports, Akshay Kumar had asked Pandey to cast him in the biopic, but The Wednesday director politely turned down the request. Pandey told the 48-year-old Akshay that he looks nothing like Dhoni, to which the Housefull star agreed.

Pandey and Akshay have close relations, since working together in Special 26, which was critically acclaimed at the box office. The also duo worked together in a commercial hit, Baby. They are now coming up with Rustom, which is produced by Pandey, starring Akshay.

Sushant is playing Dhoni in the biopic, and he looked to have done justice with the role. He is looking nothing less than Dhoni himself, and has done extensive work on his looks and building a strong physique like the Indian cricket captain.

‘MS Dhoni – The Untold Story’ is releasing September 30, this year, and is among the most-anticipated movies of this year. The biopic also features Kiara Advani, Disha Patani, Anupam Kher and Bhumika Chawala in prominent roles.

The recently released poster of the movies was looking nothing less than stunning, while the teaser trailer, portraying Sushant as a ticket collector, was appreciated by fans and media alike.

India survived a last-over scare to edge past hosts Zimbabwe and clinch the T20 series 2-1. A young Indian team scored a close three-run win in the third and final Twenty20 International. Put into bat India could manage only 138 after Kedar Jadhav bailed them out with a solid 58 off 42 balls.

Zimbabwe started their innings well but Barinder Sran and Dhawal Kulkarni picked up two wickets each to halt their run chase. In a dramatic final over, the hosts needing 21 runs were very close to a historic win but Sran held his nerve for a thrilling win for India.