Hashtags and rumours about the former Indian captain Ms Dhoni’s retirement took twitter by storm. It was the most discussed topic on Tuesday, the 29th of October.
In a nation where cricket is considered not just a game but an emotion, what happens when arguably one of the greatest cricketers of our generation announces his retirement!
Although Dhoni did not announce anything publicly, some cricket fans may have started the rumour by adding the hashtag #DhoniRetires to their tweet, and due to Dhoni’s colossal fanbase, the tweet went viral.
His fans went berserk and started posting about his accolades and contributions to Indian cricket. Twitter was flooded with memes and posts requesting Dhoni not to quit. The Twitterati were split into two groups due to disparity in opinions. One half went on to claim that it was Dhoni who started the propaganda to concentrate on young talent and now when it’s his time to descend from his position and give new talent a shot whoever is worthy.
But Thala’s fans refuse to admit this and countered by saying his experience and leadership skills are irreplaceable. They say until and unless Dhoni personally comments on the matter, it is too premature to believe such rumours.
The biggest reason for this argument to catch fire was the fact that Dhoni has not played for India since his heartbreaking exit in the semis against New Zealand in the World Cup 2019. Even though he got a half-century, he was criticized for playing it slow.
Many reports indicated that Dhoni might retire after the World Cup. He, later on, decided to take a break from cricket and went on to serve the Indian Army where he was offered the position of Lieutenant Colonel. He made himself unavailable for the West Indies tour and was also not picked for the home tour of SA T20.
Many celebrities and dignitaries of BCCI tweeted their opinions on this debate. India’s head coach Ravi Shastri expressed his views saying Dhoni has earned his right to decide when to quit. He deliberately made an exit from test format and can do it the way he likes in other shorter formats.
The newly-elected BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that India is proud of what he has done in his monumental career and we will ensure that MSD will always be respected for his contribution.
However BCCI chief selector MSK Prasad made it very clear that they are looking forward to fresh options such as Rishabh Pant for T20 championship.
There is no doubt in the fact that Dhoni’s cricketing career has been impeccable by all means. With a total of 331 matches, which is the highest by any captain in all formats (tests, ODI, T20) with an amazing average win percentage of 45, 59 and 59 respectively, Dhoni has done it all. He always had a reputation of one of the best big hitter and also holds the record for most stumpings in world cricket. Under his reign, CSK rose to becoming one of most fan favourites in IPL.
No matter whatever decision he takes he will go down in the history books as one of the greatest in the world who changed the fortune of Indian cricket.
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