After months of speculation, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 via a simple Instagram post.
MS Dhoni shared an Instagram video with a small message on Saturday, August 15. It was the first time he posted on social media since February 14 and it turned out to be the answer to Indian cricket’s million-dollar question.
Yes, in an Instagram post MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket.
Nothing was flashy about it. The post had a series of slides, covering the run out from his international debut to the run out in what turned out to be his last match in India colours, with the iconic song ‘pal do pal ka shayar' playing in the background.
“Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired (sic),” the post read.
That was it. That’s how MS Dhoni brought the curtains down on a 16-year-long, celebrated international career. His Chennai Super Kings teammate Suresh Raina followed suit.
It was an unforeseen announcement when the country was celebrating its 74th Independence Day. In fact, MS Dhoni had arrived in Chennai only a day earlier to be part of a CSK training camp in the lead up to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Dhoni’s international future had been a subject of intense speculation over the last 12 months. Majority of social media discussions and debates centering around Indian cricket during the lockdown had the 'what-next-for-Dhoni?
Dhoni did not play competitive cricket after India’s exit in the 2019 World Cup. After the campain in England, the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel trained with the Territorial Army, went on family trips, rode superbikes, tractors and even focussed on organic farming but did not play competitive cricket. Dhoni had been keeping mum about his international future.
“January tak mat poocho (Don’t ask anything until January),” was the only message that came from him during his absence from action. When rumours of him retiring were doing rounds on social media, a strongly-worded rebuttal came from his wife.
In the end, it was Dhoni himself who put a full stop to the speculations in his own inimitable style.
THE DHONI DECISIONS AND WHY HIS LATEST SHOULDN'T BE A SURPRISE
Dhoni has donned several roles during his career but his nonconformist approach to things has remained a constant. Dhoni always had the confidence to make his own decisions and stand by it. A few examples follow.
Take the finals of the 2 World Cups he won as India captain. In both the matches, Dhoni’s men were under pressure. The captain made major decisions that left quite a few puzzled but it also showed he didn’t always go the conventional way.
In 2014, Dhoni decided he no longer wanted to play Test cricket. Dhoni wasn’t going to hang around after a string of overseas defeats where he and his team looked like they ran out of ideas. He stepped away despite it being the mid-way point of a high-profile series in Australia.
In 2017, he decided to give up captaincy in limited-overs cricket two years into the World Cup cycle and handed over the reins to Virat Kohli.
DID DHONI GET THE TIMING RIGHT?
There have been many legends of the game who have bowed out without farewell matches but Dhoni’s international swansong ended in heartbreak. An emotive, long walk back to the Old Trafford dressing room after being run out by Martin Guptill in India’s World Cup semi-final defeat was his last act in international cricket.
Did he get the timing with regards to his retirement right? Why did he wait more than a year since playing his last international match to make the call?
As Sunil Gavaskar points out, the postponement of the 2020 T20 World Cup due to the novel coronavirus pandemic might have been a decisive influence, considering the team management did not rule out chances of his return.
Did MS Dhoni dream of a fairytale finish? Could he have returned at 39 and weaved his magic again? Dhoni's Instagram post doesn't give us an answer. We may never get to know.
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