Dhoni was named the captain of Indian squad for the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa in September 2007.[138] India were crowned champions as Dhoni led the team to victory against Pakistan in a thrilling contest.[139] He went on to become the ODI captain of the Indian team for the seven-match ODI series against Australia in September 2007.[140] He made his debut as full-time Test captain of India during the fourth and final Test against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008, replacing Anil Kumble who was injured in the third test and who then announced his retirement. Dhoni was vice-captain in this series up to that point.[141] India eventually won that Test, thus clinching the series 2–0 and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.[142] Dhoni had previously captained India on a stand-in basis against South Africa and Australia, in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
It was under his captaincy that India climbed to No. 1 in the ICC Test Rankings in December 2009.[143] After that, India had clean sweep victories against Bangladesh[144] and Australia.[145] The series against South Africa, who are considered one of the best touring teams in the world,[146] was drawn 1–1.[147] India also came close to defeating South Africa in South Africa in early 2011 before Kallis' twin hundreds ensured that the series ended at 1–1.[148]
After winning the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final against Sri Lanka on 2 April 2011, with his match-winning knock of unbeaten 91, Tendulkar heaped praises on Dhoni, claiming him to be the best captain he has played under. Tendulkar mentioned that it was Dhoni's calm influence that was rubbing off on all his teammates and described Dhoni's handling of pressure as incredible.
Only eleven players have captained ten or more Tests playing as a wicket-keeper. Dhoni leads the table with 60 Tests as captain, 35 ahead of Mushfiqur Rahim in second place.[149]
In March 2013, Dhoni became the most successful Indian Test captain when he eclipsed Sourav Ganguly's record of 21 victories from 49 Tests.[150] Ganguly also said in an interview to a news channel that Dhoni is the all-time greatest captain of India and he has a great record to support this credential.[151]
In June 2013, India won 2013 ICC Champions Trophy under Dhoni's captaincy, beating England by five runs in the final, after a semi-final victory over Sri Lanka and defeating South Africa, West Indies and Pakistan in the group stages.[152]
In August 2016, Dhoni was selected as captain for India's first tour to the United States, where India played two T20Is against the West Indies in Lauderhill, Florida.[153] India lost the first match on 27 August 2016, during which Dhoni surpassed former Australian captain Ricky Ponting to become the most experienced captain in international cricket.[154] During 2018 Asia Cup in India's last Super Four match, against Afghanistan, captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain Shikhar Dhawan were both rested for the match. He was named the captain of the side in their absence, and became the first cricketer to lead India 200 times in ODIs.[155]
As captain of the Indian cricket team, Dhoni has seldom been suspended due to his team's slow over-rate. In December 2009, he was suspended for two ODI matches against Sri Lanka by ICC match referee Jeff Crowe as India was three overs short of the specified rate; Virender Sehwag acted as captain for the two matches in Cuttack and Kolkata.[156] In January 2012 Dhoni was banned for the fourth Test match against Australia in Adelaide as India was two overs short during the third Test in Perth.[157] Sehwag captained the team in the Adelaide test and Wriddhiman Saha kept the wickets. In the CB Series in February, Dhoni again faced a one-match ban for slow over rate against Australia.[158][159]
World Cup
Dhoni has captained India in two World Cups. Under his captaincy, India won the World Cup in 2011 and reached the semifinals in 2015.
2007 Cricket World Cup
Dhoni played his first ODI World Cup in 2007 in the Caribbean. India made an early exit from the tournament in the Group Stage. In 2007 Cricket World Cup, India was placed in Group B with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bermuda. Rahul Dravid captained the team in this World Cup. In three matches India played, they managed to win only one against Bermuda while losing the rest from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In their first match against Bangladesh, India was all out in just 191 in 49.3 overs. Dhoni was out for 0. He stumped Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and captain Habibul Bashar in the match but, India lost by 5 wickets. In the next match against Bermuda, India posted the then Highest Score in the World Cup 413/5 in a must-win match. Dhoni scored 29 off 25 Balls which includes Two 4s and One 6. India won the match by 257 runs. India was required to win their last group match against the Lankans, but they lost by 69 runs. Chasing the target of 255, India crumbled to 185 all out in 43.3 overs. Dhoni was dismissed for 0 for the second time in the tournament, off his first ball by Muttiah Muralitharan. Thus, India was out of the world cup in the first round. The Team was heavily criticized for its performance. Dhoni's under-construction house in Ranchi was attacked by some 200 fans after the Bangladesh loss.
2011 Cricket World Cup
Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the 2011 World Cup. In the final against Sri Lanka, chasing 275, Dhoni promoted himself up the batting order, coming before an in-form Yuvraj Singh. When he came to bat, India needed more than six runs per over with three top-order batsmen already dismissed. He started building a good partnership with Gautam Gambhir. Due to good strokeplay and active running between wickets, they kept up with the required run rate. Dhoni was on 60 off 60 balls but later accelerated with a greater frequency of boundaries, ending with 91 not out off 79 balls. Befitting the occasion, he finished the match off in style with a huge six over long-on off bowler Nuwan Kulasekara and won the Man of the Match award. Later in the post-match presentation, he admitted that he came up the order so as to counter the Muralitharan spin threat, as he was very familiar with Murali's bowling, who was his teammate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings. He had come after the dismissal of Virat Kohli, also a right-handed batsman. By partnering with the left-handed Gambhir, he ensured a right-left combination at the crease that makes it difficult for bowlers to settle into a rhythm.
The bat used by Dhoni in the final match was sold for ₹ 72 Lac. The money goes to Sakshi Rawat Foundation, operated by Dhoni's wife Sakshi Rawat to help orphan children.[160]
2015 Cricket World Cup
For the 2015 World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, Dhoni was named the captain of the 30-member squad by the BCCI in December 2014.[161] Under his captaincy, India was able to go through to the semi-finals with ease, beating Bangladesh in the quarter-finals. However, they lost to host Australia in the semi-finals held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The team won 7 consecutive matches in this world cup and won 11 consecutive matches overall in world cups. With the win against Bangladesh, he became the first non-Australian captain to win 100 ODI matches, and the first Indian captain to achieve the mark. He is also the third captain to win 100 matches, after two Australians, Ricky Ponting, and Allan Border.[162]
2019 Cricket World Cup
Dhoni was named in the 15-man squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup held in England and Wales. Dhoni scored some handy knocks in the tournament against South Africa, Australia, and West Indies, although he was criticised for his strike rate and 'lack of intent' in the match against Afghanistan and England. In the semi-final against New Zealand, Dhoni scored a fighting half-century in the second innings but was unfortunately run out at a crucial stage thus ending India's World Cup run.