Former India skipper MS Dhoni has announced his retirement from international cricket, the two-time World Cup winner announced in an Instagram post on Saturday (August 15).
“Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired”, read the post of the formal announcement.
View this post on InstagramThanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired
Though the post did not mention the formats he is retiring from, Dhoni is expected to play in the upcoming IPL 2020 in the UAE as he was spotted earlier on August 14 arriving in Chennai for Chennai Super Kings’ training camp before they fly out.
Dhoni had announced his retirement from Tests in 2014 but carried on to play in ODIs and T20Is, leading India to the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20. With 10,733 runs from 350 matches, Dhoni is fifth in the list of India’s all-time run-scorers in ODI behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
His future was a hot topic after the 2019 World Cup semifinal loss against New Zealand. Following that game, he took a two-month sabbatical to serve the Indian Army and did not play any form of cricket not even for his domestic side Jharkhand. He didn’t even speak in public or media since the New Zealand loss thereby creating speculation of his next move.
In the meantime, photos and videos shared by his wife Sakshi showed Dhoni spending time with his family at his farmhouse. Dhoni burst on to the scene as a 23-year-old, making his India debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2004 under the captaincy of now BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. He didn’t do well in the series but promoted up the order in the next, Dhoni slammed his maiden ODI hundred – 148 versus Pakistan at Vizag which shot him to
prominence.
NEWS : MS Dhoni retires from international crickethttps://t.co/jvTJ4wVmeq#ThankYouMSDhoni 💙 pic.twitter.com/JB6ZxhU6dx
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 15, 2020
More was in store for him when after a forgetful 2007 ODI World Cup, Dhoni was given the charge of the team in the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa. And bingo, Dhoni led India to the title beating Pakistan in the final. He then went on to win the 2011 World Cup at home before clinching the Champions Trophy in England two years later.
In 2009, he shepherded India to the pinnacle of ICC Test Championships, establishing him as India’s best captain in a long time. He overtook Ganguly as India’s most successful Test captain with a 22nd win. In 2010, under Dhoni, India won the Asia Cup, after 15 years, beating Sri Lanka comprehensively in the final.
