MSD ERA

       

             For the past 9 years or so, at some point of time, all the wicketkeepers in India must have wondered whether they have chosen a wrong profession. Such is the flair of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. One big brand ambassador of cricket, A destructive batsman, Captain cool, A man with midas touch. A revolution in Indian cricket. 

        Who would have ever believed that India would be No.1 in ICC test rankings.  The sudden announcement by MSD to retire was disappointing at one level and surprising too. It was somewhere coming soon, but never expected it to happen in between the series. Maybe knowing that series was already lost must have triggered him to take such decision.

        When Dhoni took over the Captaincy, he probably had the best team ever India had and India henceforth rosed to the pinnacle of test rankings. It seem to have lost it in the last two years where Dhoni and his team suffered white wash at Australia and England.

#SARCASM

            But now when he has retired, Who can replace him? Or Do we have a replacement? Getting in Wriddhiman Saha or Dinesh Karthik is our best available option. With Dhoni gone, India needs someone like Yuvraj Singh in the middle lower order to play with the lower batsmen. With three back to back centuries in Ranji, I hope selectors are watching.

       Speaking to Wisden India, Indian cricket team director Ravi Shastri described how Dhoni conveyed the decision to his teammates. He said: “Dhoni came to cricket like a tiger and left like a lion. When he walked into the dressing-room, got the team together and said what he had to, he caught us all off guard. There were no dramas, he just said, very openly, ‘I can’t play all formats anymore, so I’m announcing my retirement from Tests.’

“He has always been someone who will do what he wants to, and he stayed true to that till the last moment. To have the guts to say to his team that he could not go on playing all formats, it tells you how honest he is with himself and his mates.”

        He added: “He did not think about playing 100 Tests and celebrating that, he did not worry about what people might say. He knew the time was right and the respect for him has just gone to another level within the team. For every cricketer, you know in your heart when your number is up. But it still takes a lot to walk away. To do what he did, the way he did it, all his career, it’s something people in all walks of life should reflect on. Someone once called me the champion of champions, but, to me, Dhoni is the real champion of champions.”

        Somewhere Dhoni has too many haters for getting in too many Chennai Superkings player in the Indian National Team. But then he has to be respected for giving India the crown of World Champions in all the formats.

Let us all thank Mahendra Singh Dhoni as wish him luck to defend the World cup in 2015.