MS Dhoni, the former India captain, announced his retirement from international cricket on Instagram on Saturday.
Details are awaited as to whether the retirement extends to his participation in the upcoming IPL 2020, which is scheduled to begin in the UAE on September 19, but according to reports, he will continue being active in India’s premier T20 tournament.
Dhoni’s announcement comes as a shock to the cricket world, especially given the low key nature of his statement. He simply posted a message on Instagram, with a photo-slideshow sound-tracked by an old Bollywood song from the 1976 movie Kabhi Kabhie.
View this post on Instagram
Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired
His measage read: “Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired [sic]”
Dhoni’s international career has been in limbo since India’s semi-final exit against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup. He made himself unavailable for selection from the subsequent international series, but it was expected that he’d target returning to cricket in IPL 2020, ahead of the men’s T20 World Cup, which was originally scheduled for later this year.
However, with Covid-19 forcing the T20 World Cup to be postponed, it appears Dhoni has decided against participating in the global international event.
It remains to be seen how his retirement affects his participation in IPL 2020. Dhoni has linked up with the Chennai Super Kings squad for a preparatory camp ahead of the rescheduled tournament next month.
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Dhoni’s announcement was swiftly followed by Suresh Raina announcing his own retirement, having not been in the international reckoning since 2018.
Dhoni had retired from Test cricket in a similarly shocking announcement during India’s tour of Australia in 2014, but he continued playing limited-overs international cricket, leading India to the semi-finals of the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 T20 World Cup.
He then handed over limited-overs captaincy to Virat Kohli in 2017, but had his hopes set on one final tilt at the World Cup last year.
Dhoni ends his international career with 17,266 runs in 538 matches across all formats. It was in limited-overs cricket that he really left his mark though. He scored 10,773 runs in 350 ODIs at a tremendous 50.57 – a return that puts him at No.11 among players with the most runs in the format, a remarkable feat considering he batted at No.5 or below for most of his career. He also scored 1,617 runs in 98 T20Is, building a reputation as a finisher. As wicketkeeper, he claimed 829 dismissals across formats.
And just like that, an era has ended.#MSDhoni #Retirement pic.twitter.com/uB9aOmcH8q
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 15, 2020
Dhoni’s influence, however, goes far beyond numbers. As captain, he led India to the seismic triumph at the T20 World Cup in 2007 and the 2013 Champions Trophy, but it was triumph in between at the 2011 World Cup that will remain the highlight of his legacy as captain.
He is also a massive figure in the IPL, where he has built a strong association with the city of Chennai during his time with Chennai Super Kings.
Dhoni signs off from international cricket as India’s most successful captain, and arguably their most enigmatic character.
