Consider me retired: Dhoni bids adieu to world cricket
Veteran batsman Raina joined Dhoni in formally announcing his retirement from international cricket. Both Dhoni and Raina are expected to play in the upcoming edition of the IPL to be held in the UAE from Sept.19
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni quit international cricket on Saturday, drawing curtains on an illustrious, trophy-laden career with a cryptic Instagram message.
Dubbed ‘Captain Cool’ because of his unflappable style, Dhoni is also one of India’s best loved sports personalities and his fans have been dreading this decision for months.
“Thanks a lot for your love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired,” he wrote on Instagram here with a video montage which had images from his 15-year international career.
The message ended speculation around the international future of the enigmatic 39-year-old, who quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India since the team’s semi-final exit at the 50-overs World Cup in July last year.
Veteran batsman Suresh Raina joined Dhoni in formally announcing his retirement from all international cricket. Like Dhoni, Raina made it official in an Instagram post.
“It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @ mahi7781 . With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind!” said Raina in a post that included a picture of him with his CSK teammates Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Karn Sharma.
Mostofraina’sinternationalappearancescame under Dhoni’s captaincy. He scored 5,615 runs in 226 ODI matches, which included five centuries and 1,605 runs, including one century in 78 T20IS. He was the first Indian player to score a century in T20I cricket and the first from the country to score a century in all three formats of the game.
Dhoni did not say whether this meant all cricket but Chennai Super Kings chief executive Kasi Vishwanathan said that Dhoni would still lead the team in the IPL starting in the UAE next month.
TRIBUTES POUR IN: “It is the end of an era,” Indian cricket board (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said in a statement.
“His leadership qualities have been something which will be hard to match, especially in the shorter format of the game.
“Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolutely brilliant one,” added Ganguly, himself a former India captain.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah called Dhoni “one of the greats of the modern era”.
“I wish him all the very best for IPL and his future endeavours,” Shah said.
Dhoni burst onto the international scene in an one-dayer against Bangladesh in late 2004 as a long-haired wicketkeeper with spectacular power-hiting prowess.
RECORDS GALORE: He went on to become statistically India’s most successful captain, leading them to World Cup triumphs in 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI), while they also became the top ranked Test team under him in 2009.
As a batsman, Dhoni also transformed himself into one of the best finishers of the game, famously illustrating it by securing India’s 2011 World Cup victory by hiting a six in the final against Sri Lanka.
The immensely popular cricketer ends his ODI career having played 350 matches, scoring 10,773 runs and effecting 444 dismissals. He holds the record for most dismissals in T20 internationals with 91 in 98 matches.
Overall, Dhoni has amassed 17,000 international runs across formats, including 16 centuries, and more than 800 victims as wicketkeeper.
India skipper Virat Kohli tipped his hat to his former captain in an emotional message.
“Every cricketer has to end his journey one day, but still when someone you’ve goten to know so closely announces that decision, you feel the emotion much more. What you’ve done for the country will always remain in everyone’s heart,” Kohli wrote on Twiter.