He made his One Day International debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh in Chittagong.

Dhoni was run out for a first ball duck in his first appearance in international cricket. India went on to win by 11 runs.

Dhoni has played 283 ODIs, scoring 9,110 runs, averaging 50.89 with an 88-plus strike rate.

He has hit 9 centuries in this format to go with 61 fifties.

He made his Test debut in 2005, against Sri Lanka in Chennai in a rain-hit game in which no play was possible for the first three days.

Dhoni finally got to bat on Day 5. He scored 30 on his debut. India were bowled out for 167 and the match finished in a draw.

He went on to play 90 Tests for India, scoring 4,876 runs at a 38-plus average, hitting 6 centuries and 33 fifties.

He also took 256 catches and effected 38 stumpings.

His highest Test score of 224 came against Australia in February 2013.

Dhoni was appointed India captain for the first time in 2007, for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

He made a dream start to his tenure. India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, beating Pakistan in the final.

He has also played 73 Twenty20 Internationals, scoring 1,112 runs, averaging nearly 36 with a 122 strike rate.

He received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest sports honour, in 2007.

India scaled the No 1 ranking in Tests under Dhoni and remain the world's top ranked team for 18 months from December 2009.

Dhoni captained India to the ODI World Cup victory in 2011. The hosts beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Mumbai's Wankhede stadium.

Known for his habit of sealing victory with a six, Dhoni's trademark "helicopter" shot has delighted fans who also hail 'Captain Cool''s unflappable temperament.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won another major title on the world stage, when they outclassed hosts England in a rain-hit final to win the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.

The victory gave Dhoni the unique record of being the first captain to win three World titles, having won the 2007 World T20 and 50-overs World Cup.

India lost in the semi-final of the 50 overs World Cup to eventual champions Australia by 95 runs.

Dhoni's team had won all six games in the group stages and had beaten Bangladesh in the quarter-final.

Favourites India were shocked by the West Indies in the World T20 semi-final, losing by 7 wickets, in Mumbai in what turned out to be Dhoni's last assignment as captain in a global tournament.

A couple of weeks before that shock loss at home, Dhoni had led India to a record sixth Asia Cup title -- beating Bangladesh by 8 wickets margin in a rain-hit final of the T20 tournament in Dhaka.

Dhoni steps down as captain of the Indian ODI and T20I teams. He will be available for selection as a wicket-keeper batsman.