Former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is just two matches away from scripting yet another world record. Dhoni, who has played 594 international matches, has to play just two more games to equal South African cricketer Mark Boucher’s tally of 596 games, the maximum in international cricket played by a wicket-keeper batsman. The duo is followed on the list by Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara, who has 499 matches under his belt, and legendary Australia wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist (485).
The Ranchi-based wicket-keeper batsman recently became the first-ever Indian cricketer to play 300 T20 matches when he took the field against New Zealand in the third and last T20 match in Hamilton that Team India lost by four runs.
With 300 T20 games under his name, Dhoni joined the likes of Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik and Dwayne Bravo on an elite list of players with over 300 T20 appearances. West Indies all-rounder Kieran Pollard tops the list with 446 appearances to his name.
Earlier, during a five-match ODI series between India and New Zealand, Dhoni became the third on the list of cricketers with most number of ODIs under his belt for India.
India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar tops the list with 463 appearances in the limited overs game followed by former skipper Rahul Dravid (340). The third spot is reserved by Dhoni, who has played 335 ODIs for India and three ODIs for Asia XI. Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin is fourth on the list with 334 appearances to his name.