Dhoni: Indian legendary cricketer to retire
August 15, 2020
Indian wicketkeeper-batsman and former captain Mahendra Sing (MS) Dhoni on Saturday announced his retirement from international cricket, a decision that fans have been dreading for months.
"Thanks a lot for your love and support throughout. From 1929 hours consider me as retired,'' the cricketer posted on his Instagram account with a video montage showcasing images from his 15-year-long international career.
Dhoni did not specify if he has retired from all cricket.
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The 39-year-old ends his international career having played in 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.
Dhoni was one of India's most successful captains before standing down as skipper of the limited-over teams in 2017.
Indian Premier League
Dhoni's announcement came as he joined the Super Kings team in Chennai ahead of next month's franchise-based Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament, which will now take place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chennai Super Kings chief executive Kasi Vishwanathan told French news agency AFP that Dhoni would still lead his team as captain in the IPL season starting in the UAE next month.
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Hailing from the city of Ranchi in northeast India, Dhoni made his test debut in 2005. He has not played international cricket since last year's 50-over World Cup. In January, Dhoni was removed from India's list of 27 centrally-contracted players.
Under Dhoni's captainship, India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013. His team also reached the top of the test rankings in 2009.
mvb/mm (AP, AFP, Reuters)