MS Dhoni’s name is unanimous with cricket. The cricketer is not a sportsman but a feeling or emotion for many. The cricketer represents much more than just sport and when MS Dhoni announced his sudden retirement from the longest format of the game, the whole cricketing fraternity was left in shock.
On December 30, 2014, MS Dhoni decided to call it quits from Test cricket, both as a cricketer and captain. Leading the India cricket team in his 60th match as the Test skipper, Dhoni decided that his time had come.
When the cricketer from Jharkhand decided to retire from Test cricket, he was already India’s most successful captain of all time. Winning 27 of the 60 matches he had led in, a draw at the MCG in the Boxing Day Test, prompted something inside of MS Dhoni to step away from the format.
MS Dhoni’s parting gift to Indian cricket
While no one knows what prompted this sudden decision, it was a sad day for his fans and Indian cricket in general. However, what no one realized was that he was giving India a parting gift that they’ll remember for ages.
Although Dhoni left Test cricket to focus on white ball cricket, he gave the leadership of the side to Virat Kohli. This decision could be the biggest masterstroke from the captain cool. In his first match as skipper, Kohli smacked 193 runs and held out a draw.
However, it would be his exploits for the next 6 years as skipper that would see him usurp his captain MS Dhoni. Even in retirement, Dhoni had made sure that Indian cricket was in the right hands. What he could never achieve in Test cricket, he ensured Kohli would as he went on to become the first Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia, four years after Dhoni handed him the leadership of the Test side.
