7 things about MS Dhoni you may not know

India's most successful, MS Dhoni is always in the public eye. Whether it is his exploits on the pitch or the endorsements off it, there is hardly a thing that the 35-year-old without it making the news. Yet there are some things about him that not everyone is aware of.

While everyone knows that he was a goalkeeper at cool, did you know that he also played another game? Of his many hairstyles, his most famous is the long hair that he used to sport at the start of his career, but do you know the reason behind it? Well then, here are some things you may not know about MS Dhoni.

Here are 7 things about MS Dhoni you may not know:

#1 Life outside cricket

Dhoni has more than his fair share of endorsements

Although MS Dhoni is no longer a shareholder in Rhiti Sports, it wasn't too long ago that the Indian captain had a 15 per cent stake in the sports management company, which had Indian cricketers as their clients. Although some accused him of having conflict of interest, the firm has since cleared the air and admitted that Dhoni has no stakes now and was a shareholder for only a brief period.

That though, hasn't stopped him from investing in sports apart from cricket. Along with Sahara India Pariwar, the 35-year-old is a co-owner of Ranchi Rays, who are a Ranchi-based hockey club who take part in the Hockey India League. MS Dhoni's love for bikes is common knowledge and he co-partners with Akkineni Nagarjuna in the Supersport World Championship where his team Mahi Racing Team India take part.

As a avid football fan and his time from playing in Chennai for the Chennai Super Kings, it should come as no surprise that he is a co-owner along with Abhishek Bachchan and Vita Dani, of Chennaiyin FC, who take part in the Indian Super League.

#2 Dhoni's TTE days

Hailing from Jharkhand, it is fair to say that MS Dhoni didn't have the usual path to cricket. Yet, what makes his journey all the more impressive is that he didn't always want to be a cricketer. In fact, he spent a considerable portion of his youth working as a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE), which is a long way away from being a famous Indian cricketer.

From 2001 to 2003, Dhoni was a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W), a district in West Bengal. Much like his cricket career, his colleagues remember him as an honest and straightforward employee of the Indian Railways.

While he was a model employee, he had a mischievous side that brought him in the news once as well. As a prank, with a couple of his friends, he walked around the railway quarters complex in white bed sheets and fooling the guards into thinking that it was a ghost.

#3 Played badminton aside from football

Dhoni’s love for football is common knowledge

MS Dhoni's journey to becoming an Indian cricketer is quite unlike any other. For starters, he didn't even start out playing cricket as a youngster. It was all thanks to his football coach that he went down to the local cricket club (Commando Cricket Club) to play.

Before that, he played both badminton and football and was selected at both district and club level in both. His reflexes as a wicketkeeper are still one of the best in the business and much of that can be attributed to the fact that he started out as a goalkeeper. In fact, it wasn't until he was in his 10th standard that he decided to focus on cricket.

And had it not been for his football coach, he wouldn't have been standing behind the stumps and leading India to glory, instead he would have been behind the sticks, trying to stop shots and who knows maybe even represent India in football.

#4 Recommendation from Sachin for captaincy

Dhoni's captaincy break came courtesy of Sachin

MS Dhoni is the only Indian captain to have led his side to all three major ICC tournaments. It all began with the 2007 ICC World T20, then it was the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy completed the trio. But did you know it all began thanks to the advice of a legendary batsman?

His first meeting with Sachin Tendulkar was when the latter was playing for West Zone and Dhoni was the 12th man. During his match-winning 199*, Sachin asked for water and Dhoni brought it to him. From then onwards, he impressed Sachin and when it came to finding a new captain for India, Dhoni was recommended by none other than one of India's greatest players.

So when it came down to the next Indian captain selection in 2007, Sachin suggested Dhoni for his calm nature and his ability to get along with everyone in the side. And what a brilliant decision that turned out to be.

#5 Only second Indian cricketer to achieve an honorary rank

MS Dhoni may be one of the greatest captains that India have ever had but he has never shied away from the fact that he would like to play some role in the Army sometime after he calls time on his playing career.

And if he needed an incentive to do it, then he certainly got it in 2011. On 1 November, the Indian Territorial Army conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel to MS Dhoni. After which he only became the second Indian cricketer following in the footsteps of India's only other World Cup-winning captain, Kapil Dev to receive this prestigious honour.

#6 Broken Tata Sumo denied his Duleep Trophy debut

Dhoni’s chance came later than it should have due to bad luck

Everyone knows that MS Dhoni didn't have a smooth ride to the national team. Hailing from a state that isn't known for producing cricketers, he had to work hard to get where he is but luck made it even harder for him to do that.

Just when it looked as though he was set to make the East Zone team for the Duleep Trophy, he didn't get word of when the team was going to leave. As there was no social media at the time, the news of his selection for the side that was sent by the Bihar cricket association didn't reach Dhoni on time. By the time it got to Ranchi, the team had already left to Agartala.

However, his friend Paramjit Singh took the help of some locals to hire a Tata Sumo car in the hope of helping Dhoni reach on time with 20 hours to go. Unfortunately for him, despite being with a couple of friends, car problems meant he didn't get there and Deep Dasgupta played in the game against South Zone as the wicketkeeper. Yet, he went to the second game in Pune and met Sachin for the first time as he was the 12th man.

#7 Reason behind his long hair

Throughout his international career, MS Dhoni has sported several hairstyles. Whether it is the cool and trendy mohawk or the traditional look that he has gone for recently, he hasn't been shy of trying new thing as far as his hair style is concerned.

Yet ask any Dhoni fan what hairstyle they remember him by, it is the long flowing hair that he used to sport at the start of his career. But did you know why he chose that? Who was the reason behind him choosing that particular style?

As he revealed to a journalist once, it was because of none other than John Abraham. His friendship with both Bipasha Basu and Abraham is not common knowledge but the reason why MS sported his long golden locks was because it was inspired by the latter's look.