London, Aug 31 : India's cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was bestowed with an honorary Doctorate of Letters by UK's De Montfort University for his sporting achievements on Tuesday.
The Doctorate conferred on Dhoni by the Vice Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester, Professor Dominic Shellard in the presence of over 6,000 people.
Conferring the degree, Professor Shellard said, “De Montfort University is delighted that M S Dhoni accepted an honorary Doctorate of Letters to recognise his singificant sporting achievements.”
Keith Vaz, Labour MP from Leicester East said “This was a great day for Leicester.”
Dhoni was awarded his honorary doctorate yesterday after the conclusion of a Twenty20 practice match against Leicestershire here yesterday.
“India's victory in Mumbai will remain as an iconic moment in the history of cricket and I hope that this great honour will be seen as recognition of that achievement.”
Dhoni has achieved many milestones in his career. Under his captaincy, the Indian team won in the 2007 ICC world twenty20 championships, the 2007-08 Commonwealth Bank one day series and most recently the 2011 cricket world cup.
He holds records for the most catches in an innings and the longest unbeaten run as a captain. He also holds the award for the fastest century scored by an Indian wicket keeper.
In 2008 and 2009, Dhoni was also named the ICC's one-day international player of the year. PTI
