5 players MS Dhoni groomed for the Indian cricket team

In an Instagram post earlier today, former Indian captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket. He thanked India and their fans for the love and support, while claiming: 'from 19:29 hrs, consider me as retired'.

Given MS Dhoni's links to the Indian armed forces and the fact that the 15th of August is the country's Independence Day, the retirement announcement has a certain poetic feel to it. The former Indian captain will, however, continue to play franchise cricket, and is already in Chennai preparing for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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5 players MS Dhoni groomed for the Indian cricket team

In the wake of this shocking development, we take a look at 5 players who MS Dhoni groomed for the Indian cricket team.

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#5 Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma recently dismissed captaincy comparisons with MS Dhoni

Indian opener Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest limited-overs batsmen the country has ever seen, and much of the credit for him becoming the world-beater that he is must go to MS Dhoni.

The former Indian captain made the brave call of promoting Rohit to the top of the order ahead of the 2013 Champions Trophy, and his decision was immediately vindicated as India went on to win the tournament.

Rohit went from strength to strength, scoring three double centuries in the 50-over format and recording as many 5 centuries in the 2019 World Cup. The Mumbai Indians skipper has seen his game reach unparalleled heights at the top of the order, and MS Dhoni's constant faith in his potential, despite the constant criticism that was levelled at Rohit, has paid rich dividends for the Indian cricket team.

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#4 Suresh Raina

Raina and Dhoni have played together at almost all teams

MS Dhoni's right-hand man at CSK, Suresh Raina played a crucial role in India's ICC tournament wins - the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. The elegant southpaw played crucial knocks in the quarter-final against Australia and the semi-final against Pakistan to take India to their first World Cup win in 28 years.

Much of Raina's success has been a result of his partnership with MS Dhoni at Chepauk. The CSK skipper developed Raina's game to suit the team's needs like only he can, with the latter becoming incredibly useful with the ball and as always, electric in the field.

Raina also posted on Instagram that he 'chooses to join MS Dhoni in this journey', and Indian cricket might just have lost two of its greatest-ever players on the same day.

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#3 Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin flourished under MS Dhoni at CSK

Another big-game player who made the grade at CSK, Ravichandran Ashwin is one of the greatest spinners India has ever produced, and it was his spell at the 3-time IPL champions that propelled him into international reckoning.

Blessed with countless variations, guile and accuracy, Ashwin is one of the most complete spinners that the world has ever seen. He even recently spoke about how MS Dhoni trusted him to bowl his variations when the going got tough, in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

The Tamil Nadu man won the 2011 World Cup under MS Dhoni's captaincy, and bowled the last over in India's 2013 Champions Trophy final triumph as well. But where he is truly the best is in the Test format, and he held the #1 position in the ICC Test bowling rankings for a significant amount of time.

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#2 Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja played a blinder in MS Dhoni's final international game

Ashwin's spin partner Ravindra Jadeja is another player who has seen his game elevate by leaps and bounds under MS Dhoni. A bowler with metronomic accuracy, the left-arm spinner is one of the only Indian cricketers who play all three formats at the moment.

Jadeja has been immense in Test cricket, often competing with Ashwin for the #1 spot in the ICC bowling rankings and managing to pick up wickets in all conditions. In ODIs, he finished the 2013 Champions Trophy as the leading wicket-taker, and has played the following two World Cups as well.

Jadeja has a claim to being perhaps India's greatest all-rounder of all time, and with good reason.

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#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni have had a great partnership

Current Indian skipper Virat Kohli is indebted to his predecessor MS Dhoni in more ways than one. The wicket-keeper backed Kohli to the hilt when he was going through a rough patch in his career, even saving him from getting dropped during India's tour of Australia in 2012.

Moreover, MS Dhoni ensured that the transition of captaincy in the Indian cricket team is a smooth one. He first retired from the longest format of the game in December 2014 in the middle of a Test series, allowing Kohli to take charge for the remaining two Tests. He then handed over the reins in the limited-overs formats in 2017, and stayed with the Delhi man as a supporting pillar from behind the stumps.

The Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper has himself expressed his gratitude to MS Dhoni on various occasions. Speaking about the 2011 World Cup-winning captain's impact, he said:

"I don't think the selectors appointed me as India captain suddenly. They probably had MS Dhoni as a sounding board before giving me the reins. I believe Dhoni played a big role in me getting the India captaincy."