Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will not be able to play the next four Indian Premier League (IPL) matches after being ruled out of action for ten days because of an injury on his right elbow sustained during the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday night

Mahendra, who was hit by a rising delivery from fast bowler Shane Bond, had an X-ray at a private nursing home after the game.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and VVS Laxman put up a 259 run partnership on Day 3 of the second test to put India on the driving seat. India declared for 643 at the loss of six wickets, its highest total against the South Africans.

While Dhoni remained unbeaten at 132 from 187 balls, Laxman scored an unbeaten 143 from 260 balls. This is only the second time that Indian batsmen scored four centuries in a single innings. Virendra Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar scored centuries on Day 2 of the Kolkata test.

Nagpur, Feb 7 : Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has stood by his bowlers despite South African batsman Jacques Kallis scoring his third hundred in five Tests on the first day of the first Test at Nagpur.

Addressing the media, Dhoni said, "I think we bowled quite a disciplined line you can say and they batted very patiently and frankly speaking, there was not much for the fast bowlers. Ishant and Zaheer Khan, they did their best. I think overall it was a good flat track, a very good first day to bat also and that is why they did."

FMCG giant Emami declared that it has roped in Indian cricket skipper M S Dhoni and Bollywood dimpled beauty Preity Zinta to promote its to-be-launched brand in the edible oils sector.

Confirming the development, Mr. Aditya Agrawal, Emami Director, said, "They (Dhoni and Zinta) have been signed up to endorse the brand of edible oils that we will be launching on February 19."

Dhoni and Zinta have been signed up for three years, Mr. Agarwal added.

However, Mr. Agrawal did not reveal the details regarding payments made to the celebs or the brand of the edible oil range, which will be launched by Emami Biotech Ltd.

Australian middle order batman Michael Hussey has dethroned Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni from the top spot in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for batsmen in one day international released on Monday.

Hussey had scored 220 runs at the average of 73.33 in the recently concluded ODI series against Pakistan. Hussey gained 24 points and jumped to number one position with a lead of three points over second placed Dhoni, while South Africa’s AB de Villiers is placed at the third spot.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has retained his top place in the latest Reliance Mobile International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings for batsmen in ODIs released on Thursday.

Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli gained 10 and 20 spot to be at 20th and 21st respectively. Raina had scored 210 runs including brilliant century in final of the recently concluded tri-nation ODI series in Bangladesh while Kohli was named man of the series with 275 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar slipped three places to be at eighth place, while Indian aggressive opener Virender Sehwag jumped one place to be at ninth position and Gautam Gambhir retained his 19th place.

Dhaka, Jan 11 : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to field against Bangladesh in a dead rubber of the tri-nation series at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur here Monday.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shafiul Islam

India: Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain-wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Amit Mishra, Ravindra Jadeja, Sreesanth, Sudip Tyagi and Ashish Nehra.(IANS)

Mahendra Singh Dhoni came up with a suggestion when asked about a way to beat the dew factor that tends to give an undue importance to the toss in day-night matches, especially in the winters. The India skipper said day-night matches during this time in this part of the world could be brought ahead by a couple of hours or so.

“We could start matches an hour early so that it would finish sometime around 8.30-9.00. It is during the last hour of the match that it tends to get really wet. An early start could take care of that. But it is not something we decide and we have to play whatever the conditions,” he said.

Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, during the departure of Team India for a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and two Tests in Bangladesh, said that India earnestly needs a bowling and a fielding coach for improving the skills of players besides reducing pressure on Gary Kirsten.

Dhoni told reporters, "You need specialist coaches to get the best out of players. Gary looks after so many things. He has all those team meetings, talking to batsmen, bowlers and then working out strategies."

If 2009 was the year India finally made it to the summit of world cricket, 2010 could be even more critical. As Mahendra Singh Dhoni put it, "The real journey begins now." Cricket has been so dominated by Australia in the recent past that India's aim will be to hold on to the top spot for dear life. After all, Australia barely gave anyone else a chance at the top since the ICC's rankings came into existence.

But it's not merely about Test cricket. The last two years have seen some seismic shifts in the game, and nothing has had a bigger impact than the emergence and widespread acceptance of T20.

New Delhi, Dec 28 : Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni Monday said that match referee Alan Hurst decided to abandon the fifth one-day international against Sri Lanka at Ferozeshah Kotla after consultation with both the teams.

Dhoni said the track at Ferozeshah Kotla was indeed bad.

New Delhi, Dec. 26 : Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has expressed hope to wrap up the series with another win in the fifth one-day international match against Sri Lanka on Sunday, as the spinners will be in action at the national capital’s Ferozeshah Kotla ground.

While addressing a news conference here Dhoni said that the spinners would come into action in the final ODI.

New Delhi, Dec 26 : Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said there would be no drop in intensity as they take on Sri Lanka in the fifth and final one-day international at Ferozeshah Kotla here Sunday.

India have already taken an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series and Dhoni said they would look to make the scoreline 4-1.

Dhoni, who would return to lead the side after sitting out in Cuttack and Kolkata following a two-match ban for slow over rate, said there would be a couple of changes but he would not tinker too much with the winning combination.

For cricket’s hardcore devotees, the purists who insist that Test cricket is the real form of the game, September 24, 2007, was no day for celebration.

It was the day Mahendra Singh Dhoni led a team short of full strength — a squad for which top batsmen such as Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had made themselves unavailable — to victory in the ICC World Twenty20 in Johannesburg. The game that we knew, relatively gentle, moderately fashionable and acceptably paced, took on another dimension.

Bhubaneswar, Dec 19 : Hundreds of fans of Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni here were disappointed Saturday when they could not spot their favorite player in the Indian squad which arrived here along with the Sri Lankan team to play the third day-night one-day international at Cuttack on Dec 21.

"We are disappointed," Rabindra Mohanty, 20, a fan standing outside at the Mayfair hotel here, said after not spotting Dhoni in the team.    

Dhoni recieved a two-match ban Saturday for the Indian team's slow over rate during the second one-day international against Sri Lanka at Nagpur.    

Nagpur, Dec 18 : A captain's knock of 107 from Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped India recover from a poor start and post 301 for seven in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the second One-Day International here Friday.

Opting to bat first at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium, India were reduced to 132 for four before Dhoni's sixth ODI century guided the home team to put up a challenging total on board. Suresh Raina (68) and Virat Kohli (54) also scored valuable half-centuries.

For Sri Lanka, debutant off-spinner Suraj Randiv picked up three for 51.

Nagpur, Dec 18 : Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored a fine 107 as India made 301 for seven in 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the second One-Day International at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here Friday.

Suresh Raina (68) and Virat Kohli (54) also scored valuable half-centuries. Sri Lanka's debutant off-spinner Suraj Randiv picked up three for 51. (IANS)

Rajkot, Dec 17 : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is worried about his team's poor fielding ahead of the second One-Day International against Sri Lanka here Friday.

Indian fielders dropped as many as three easy catches in the first ODI in Rajkot and the shoddy fielding allowed Sri Lanka to make 411 in reply to India's 414. Even in the last two Twenty20s, Indians dropped a dozen catches and missed several run-out opportunities.

Rajkot, Dec 14 : Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said the team cannot afford to be overconfident as they take on Sri Lanka in the first of the five One-day internationals here Tuesday.

India lost their last home ODI series against Australia 4-2 and would be looking to end the year on a high with a series victory.

They will take confidence from their Test series victory against Sri Lanka and 1-1 outcome in the Twenty20s.

Dhoni, however, want his players to remain focussed on the job.

Mohali (Punjab), Dec 12 : India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't believe that his boys dropped as many as five catches during the second Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium here Saturday.

Still, India won the match by six wickets and five balls to spare and levelled the two-match series 1-1.

"I have never seen a team dropping so many catches. But there was something funny going around, something fishy. Sri Lanka also missed so many run-outs. We have to improve our bowling, apart from fielding. Not only in T20s, but also in ODIs," said Dhoni, who hit 46 in 28 balls.