Dhoni's cricket fans celebrate his birthday in Ranchi

Ranchi, July 7 (ANI): Fans of Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni celebrated his 28th birthday on Tuesday at Mecon Stadium near his residence in Jharkhand capital, Ranchi town.

Dhoni was born in 1981 and grew up in Ranchi. Dhoni was not present in Ranchi, but his fans marked the day by cutting a huge cake and distributing sweets to each other.

Members of the Dhoni Fans Club put up big banners and posters across Ranchi. His well-wishers prayed for his happiness and success.

"First of all, I want to wish him (M S Dhoni) a very Happy Birthday and I wish him all the happiness," said Anuradha, a female fan of Dhoni.

Jitender Singh, President of Dhoni Fans Club, said that the club would set up a Cricket Academy to felicitate young talents from the slum areas.

"On this occasion we are opening a cricket academy on the way to the airport. We have contacted all the good players of Ranchi and Jharkhand and they have promised to train the young budding players," Singh said.

"We also have made some special arrangements for the children from slums, who wants to play but due to lack of opportunity fail to do so. We would open a hostel with funds collected by the Dhoni Fans Club wherein all those facilities would be provided to the players," he added.

Recently, fans had burnt Dhoni's effigy in Ranchi, blaming him for defending champions India's humiliating exit from the Twenty20World Cup.

Indian fans singled out Dhoni, hailed as a natural leader since captaining the team to victory in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, as the villain.

Dhoni was blamed for shuffling the order and failing to shake off his own subdued batting form when a captain's innings was badly needed. (ANI)