Former Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday (August 15) with a post on Instagram. His retirement immediately brought about a lot of emotion on social media, amongst his fans, teammates and opponents.
The widely respected 39-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman is known as 'Captain Cool' for his incredible calmness on the field when he led India from 2007 to 2016. He won every major trophy that is there to be won in white-ball cricket and led India to the top of ICC Test rankings.
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BCCI confirmed the retirement of Dhoni with a media release in which President Sourav Ganguly and Honorary Secretary Jay Shah paid their tributes to the great cricketer who hails from from Ranchi.
Ganguly who played his last Test for India under the captaincy of Dhoni, said: “It is the end of an era. What a player he has been for the country and world cricket. His leadership qualities have been something, which will be hard to match, especially in the shorter format of the game.
His batting in one-day cricket in his early stages made the world stand up and notice his flair and sheer natural brilliance. Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolutely brilliant one. He has set the standards for the wicketkeepers to come and make a mark for the country. He will finish with no regrets on the field. An outstanding career; I wish him the best in life.”
Jay Shah said: “MS Dhoni is one of the greats of the modern era. I understand it’s a personal decision and we respect that. ‘Mahi’ as we all fondly refer to him, has had an exceptional career in international cricket. His captaincy has been both inspiring and commendable. He is leaving the game richer from the time he joined. I wish him all the very best for IPL and his future endeavours.”
Dhoni accumulated several records in his 15-year international career, both as captain and as a player. He will continue to play in Indian Premier League (IPL) where he is set to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 13th edition of the tournament next month in UAE.
