It was long expected but when the time came, it poured emotions out of cricket fans. Speculations were going around for the past few years that MS Dhoni could announce his retirement from cricket soon. He played at the 2019 Cricket World Cup and fans hoped he would rescue India in the semi-final against New Zealand. But it wasn’t to be as he got run-out and India bowed out of the tournament.
It turned out to be the last time we got to witness Dhoni in an India jersey as he announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday via an Instagram post. People from all walks of life congratulated Dhoni on a wonderful career while reminiscing his journey in cricket.
He got messages from former Pakistan players like Shoaib Akhtar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Shahid Afridi for the career he had in cricket. Now Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal also hailed the career of Dhoni while saying that he deserves a standing ovation for his contribution to the game.
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“He was a player who took the team along. Doing captaincy is very easy, that I do captaincy and my place remains secure whether the team wins or losses, you have no concern. But Dhoni had this speciality that he was building the team and his own performance was also world-class. You can see the players he was creating, they are still No.1. He only wanted to do good for his country.” Akmal told Paktv.tv.
“Such players should not go like this, he should get a standing ovation. He should get a farewell match where he goes from the ground, like the way the great Sachin Tendulkar went. He has gone just like his name Mr. Cool. Such a player comes rarely in world cricket,” he added.
Akmal also stated that Pakistan also needs captains like him to take their cricket forward.
“Such captains are very much required. We have seen Inzi bhai and Younis bhai, how they have carried the team along. MS Dhoni was destined to play for India and he did well for his nation. He is a great example in front of us. He has not only played cricket but built a team as well and taken the Indian in an upward direction. Such mentality should also be there in our captains,” said Akmal.
“Nowadays, you see that they are playing for their own positions, to secure their spots and they have no concern whether the team wins or not. Such things are harmful for any country’s team. I wish such captains come in Pakistan as well. It is a request to the current captain that unless they win and their own performance is not world-class, the way Dhoni has done, we will not be able to go up,” he added.
Dhoni will return to play for CSK when the 13th edition of Indian Premier League kicks off from September 19th in the UAE.