MS Dhoni had passed the white-ball leadership baton to Virat Kohli in 2017.
MS Dhoni’s achievement as a cricketer is surreal, to say the least. He has etched his name in the cricketing folklore as one of the finest captains ever.
Dhoni is the only skipper in the history to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Under his leadership, India also achieved No. 1 ranking in Test cricket.
Dhoni had passed the leadership baton to Virat Kohli both in the Test and white-ball formats. While Kohli was handed the Test captaincy during the 2014-15 tour of Australia, he was named India’s full-time white-ball skipper at the start of 2017 when Dhoni stepped down from the position.
Perhaps Dhoni would have eventually made the decision to quit captaincy, but the first push came from the BCCI selectors.
Recently, former selector Jatin Paranjpe recalled how he and then-chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, spoke with Dhoni about moving on from captaincy.
“Mahi was batting. He kept batting for an hour, and MSK and I were just looking at each other. We had prepared how to tell him in the most respectful way. So we went to him and said, ‘You know, Mahi, I think it’s the right time to move on.’ So, he told MSK, ‘Anna, this is the perfect decision. Let me know what you want from me.’ MSK told him that he will have to put it in writing that you are ready to move on. He said, ‘Alright, I will do it.’ Late at night, we received an email: ‘I would like to step down’. We had to make this decision. We were criticised for it as well, but these are the tough decisions that you have to take,” Paranjpe said on The Great Cricket Indian Show.
Paranjpe also explained how Dhoni extended his full support to Kohli to ensure that the Indian team assembled its best white-ball unit for the next few years.
“He also said Don’t worry. I will work completely with Virat. He is like my brother. I will do everything that is required of me for him. Whatever experience I have, I will give it to him. And we’ll make a good team,” the former selector added.
MS Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020. His last appearance for India was in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final against New Zealand at Old Trafford.
The 44-year-old continues to feature in the IPL for CSK. He will also play the 2026 season as an uncapped player.