Junior cricket in Bihar
In 1998, Dhoni was selected by Deval Sahay to play for the Central Coal Fields Limited (CCL) team. Till 1998 Dhoni, who was in class 12th in school, had played only school cricket and club cricket and no professional cricket. One of the famous episodes, when Dhoni used to play for CCL, was when Deval Sahay used to gift him Rs 50 for each six that he hit in Sheesh Mahal tournament cricket matches. Playing for CCL, he got a chance to bat up the order. He grabbed the opportunity and scored centuries and helped CCL move to the A division. Deval Sahay impressed by his hard-hitting shots and dedication used his contacts in Bihar Cricket Association to push for his selection in the Bihar team. Deval Sahay, an ex Bihar Cricket Association Vice-President, was the Ranchi District Cricket President at that time and was instrumental in pushing Dhoni to the big stage of the Ranchi team, junior Bihar cricket team, and eventually senior Bihar Ranji Team for the 1999–2000 season. Within 1 year, Dhoni moved from playing in CCL to the Bihar Ranji team. Dhoni has credited Deval Sahay for instilling discipline in him. Dhoni was included in the Bihar U-19 squad for the 1998–99 season and scored 176 runs in 5 matches (7 innings) as the team finished fourth in the group of six and did not make it to the quarter-finals. Dhoni was not picked for the East Zone U-19 squad (CK Nayudu Trophy) or Rest of India squad (MA Chidambaram Trophy and Vinoo Mankad Trophy). Bihar U-19 cricket team advanced to the finals of 1999–2000 Cooch Behar Trophy, where Dhoni made 84 to help Bihar post a total of 357.[36] Bihar’s efforts were dwarfed by Punjab U-19s’ 839 with Dhoni’s future national squad teammate Yuvraj Singh making 358.Dhoni’s contribution in the tournament included 488 runs (9 matches, 12 innings), 5 fifties, 17 catches, and 7 stumpings.[39] Dhoni made it to the East Zone U-19 squad for the CK Nayudu trophy but scored only 97 runs[41] in four matches, as East Zone lost all four matches and finished last in the tournament.
Source -(Wikipedia)
Bihar cricket team
Dhoni made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar in the 1999–2000 season, as an eighteen-year-old. He made a half-century in his debut match scoring 68* in the second innings against the Assam cricket team. Dhoni finished the season with 283 runs in 5 matches. Dhoni scored his maiden first-class century while playing for Bihar against Bengal in the 2000/01 season, in a losing cause. Apart from this century, his performance in the 2000/01 season did not include another score over fifty, and in the 2001/02 season, he scored just five fifties in four Ranji matches.
Source -(Wikipedia)