Regarded as one of India's greatest cricketers, MS Dhoni called time on his international cricket career on Saturday (August 15). The 39-year-old disclosed his decision through an Instagram post.
See Also - ‘Dhoni never expressed any will for a farewell match’: Rajeev Shukla
Dhoni’s achievement as a cricketer is surreal, to say the least. He represented India in 90 Tests, 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is, aggregating more than 17000 international runs including 16 centuries.
In particular, Dhoni etched his name in the history books as one of India’s finest captains. He is the only skipper in the history of cricket to have won all the three ICC trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. He has also led India to the pinnacle in Test cricket.
As the revered cricketer brought down the curtain on his illustrious career, wishes poured in for him from the cricketing fraternity.
Team India members like Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul among others also paid rich tribute to the former captain.
"Your achievements over the years with the team will always remain umatched. What you've done over the years cannot be described in a video because it's so much. I just want to wish you the best for the future and hope you will have a brilliant second innings in the future," Rohit said in a video compilation shared by BCCI.
Speedster Bumrah, who also made his India under Dhoni’s captaincy in 2016, said, "Mahi bhai is the person I always looked up to. The way he conducts himself, the humbleness, the aura, the calming influence that he has with the team has always been inspiring. When I made my debut, I played under him, that was a special feeling.
"The contribution he has on the Indian cricket will never be forgotten and will inspire the younger generation for years to come."
KL Rahul, who currently dons the keeping gloves for Team India in white-ball cricket, said that Dhoni inspired small-town boys him to achieve their dreams.
"As a small town boy, I aspired to play for the country and at a lot of stages, when you're younger, you feel like it's an impossible dream. But then, somebody like MS Dhoni comes in, and the things he did at the international stage gave me and the boys like me so much hope. We all felt like even we could go on and achieve our dreams, doesn't matter where we come from," Rahul remarked.
Ishant Sharma, one of India’s leading fast bowlers in Tests, thanked Dhoni for backing him during bad times.
"Mahi bhai, thank you very much for the way you've supported me. In my tough times, you have always backed me. I don't see you as the captain, I see you as a big brother because you've always treated me the same way," said Ishant.
Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who used to get valuable inputs from Dhoni behind the stumps, said that he will miss his advices now.
"The one thing which remains special about Mahi bhai is that he always used to help teammates on or off the ground. Especially me and Kuldeep, ever since my debut. I'm really going to miss Mahi bhai's instructions from behind the stumps," Chahal said.
MS Dhoni will now be seen in action for Chennai Super Kings in the 2020 edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), slated to be held in UAE from September 19.
