MS Dhoni's retirement: Why captain cool choose 15 August to bid adieu
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has called it a day from international cricket and the reason why he bid adieu to the game in this particular day is because of his goodwill for 15th August, India’s independence day.
MS Dhoni's manager, stated that his career was for India and he is a true patriot and there could have been no bigger day than this to say goodbye to the game he loved. The manager also revealed that discussions regarding his retirement were happening but the date was not determined. He further added that MS Dhoni's main focus will now be the Indian Premier League.
The former India skipper brought an end to a year-long speculation with a simple Instagram post and brought the entire nation to a halt. MS Dhoni had not featured for the men in blue after the team's exit in the semifinal of 2019 World Cup against New Zealand.
MS Dhoni was anticipated to feature in the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia this year but the tournament got deferred until October 2021 because of the pandemic. The 39-year-old made the exit just after joining his teammates at a CSK training camp in Chennai.
The wicket keeper batsman uploaded a 4 minutes and 7 seconds clip on Instragram, showing pictures from different phases of his long international career. Minutes later, his Chennai Super Kings deputy Suresh Raina also tendered his retirement.
Captain cool’s exit from longest format of the game in 2014 was also a low-key affair as he just called it a day after playing in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia. There was no big press conferenece and no other publicity surrounding it. In 2017, he relinquished from the role of limited overs captain, again without creating much fuss.
MSD is the only captain in the world to win all the 3 ICC trophies. He led India to a 50-overs World Cup win in 2011 and brought end to a 28-year long wait. In 2013 he won ICC Champions Trophy with a young Indian side. His T20I World Cup glory in 2007 was the base for his supreme captaincy skills which the world was about to witness.
BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly said MS Dhoni's departure was an end of era and that he would finish with no regrets.
"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," Sourav Ganguly said in a BCCI release.
"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," Sourav Ganguly said.
