Celebrating Captain Cool: 5 most iconic images of MS Dhoni

#2 MS Dhoni's 2011 World Cup-winning six

MS Dhoni-led India to the 2011 World Cup

Coming into the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent, the pressure was never higher on the Indian team led by MS Dhoni. They hadn't won a World Cup since the legendary Kapil Dev-led side in 1983, and the ignominious exit from the 2007 edition of the tournament was still fresh in Indian fans' minds.

MS Dhoni had an underwhelming campaign until the final, so when fans at the Wankhede Stadium saw him stride in before the would-be Man of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh, more than a few eyebrows were raised. But the Indian skipper went on to play perhaps the greatest World Cup innings of all time, scoring an unbeaten 91 to lift cricket's most prestigious trophy after a wait of 28 years.

The sight of him depositing Nuwan Kulasekara over the long-on boundary as Yuvraj holds his hands aloft is an image ingrained in every single cricket fan's mind. Ravi Shastri's greatest moment as a commentator only served to add to the emotional memory.

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#1 Lt. Col. MS Dhoni receives the Padma Bhushan

Lieutenant Colonel MS Dhoni receives the Padma Bhushan

Months after the aforementioned World Cup win, MS Dhoni was conferred the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel by the Indian Territorial Army.

On April 2, 2018, exactly 7 years after the 2011 World Cup win, Lieutenant Colonel MS Dhoni received India's third-highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan. He marched up to the dais in his army uniform to collect the award from President Ram Nath Kovind, becoming only the second Indian captain after Kapil Dev to receive the honour.

Dressed in the clothing of the armed forces of the country he had served (and continues to serve) for years, MS Dhoni cut a proud figure in what has undoubtedly been the most iconic image of his storied career so far.