Enigmatic MS Dhoni calls it a day in his own inimitable style

A run-out - a rare sight on the field because of the speed he had in his strides - in the 2019 World Cup semi-final game against New Zealand more or less put an end to the international career of World Cup-winning captain MS Dhoni.

It had become obvious that he wouldn't play for India again. Even before he came back to India from the World Cup, speculation was rife that he would hang up his boots and the announcement would happen anytime soon.

But MS Dhoni, being the enigmatic person that he is, kept everyone guessing. And why should he reveal his plan when there is a booming T20 career still waiting? Indian coach Ravi Shastri too indicated that Dhoni would make a comeback to the team right after a successful IPL. However, the reality has turned out to be completely different.

MS Dhoni wasn’t in touch with the team management. One of the selectors did try to contact him to consider his name for selection before the South African series at home. To that selector’s surprise, he took less than 12 hours to decide that he won’t be available for India.

A few months later, MS Dhoni spoke to one of the board officials at a function and said that he doesn’t have the intention to play for India again, and also said that he feels there are a few contenders who can fit into his shoes.

In between, the rumour mills were at work and he retired several times on social media. But Sportskeeda was the only website to write that MS Dhoni won’t play for India again on March 28. It was also reported by this website that Dhoni had revealed his decision to retire to his family members, but kept it under wraps officially.

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MS Dhoni retires with an Instagram post

Now that the stage is set for another round of battle, IPL-13 in UAE, MS Dhoni surely didn’t want to keep carrying the burden of media trials about his impending retirement. The idea was get into the T20 groove with an open mind and not to have everyone speculate about his future.

Therefore, the much-awaited message came through his social media account:

“Thanks a lot your love and support throughout. From 19.29 hrs consider me as retired.”

No BCCI press release, no formal announcement. Just two lines to make it clear how he is his own man. Like he announced his Test retirement in 2014, and just like his decision to hand over the baton of Indian cricket to Virat Kohli in 2017, his style of saying goodbye to international cricket was entirely subtle. There was no noise - it was just two lines to end such an illustrious career.

There were also speculations that Dhoni’s multi-crore commercial deals were the main reason behind him not calling it a day. However, the coronavirus pandemic perhaps ensured that there is no reason to prolong the announcement.

The enigmatic MS Dhoni didn’t invite all his teammates for his wedding in Dehradun. It was only a few like RP Singh and Suresh Raina. RP had announced his retirement a few years earlier, and a few minutes after Dhoni announced his bit, Raina too followed suit!

The curtain has officially fallen on the MS Dhoni era, but there is so much to look back on and savour.