Hyderabad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is and will always remain special. That is why he chose a special day — Independence Day — to announce his retirement from international cricket. What more can one say about this gentleman and a cricketer. He was India’s finest captain, who had many credits during his illustrious career. Under his leadership, he won the 2007 T20 World Cup, he took India to No.1 in Test ranking. He also led the hosts to a glorious 2011 World Cup triumph with that famous six at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the Champions Trophy in England. Apart from that the way he showed his leadership qualities for Chennai Super Kings in IPL was indeed exemplary. He was a special brand in the IPL.
The Captain Cool brought joy to the country with his wonderful exploits on the field, be it as a captain, as batsman and as a wicketkeeper. He will remain as one of the greatest ever captains in the history of the game. I was fortunate to be the chairman of the selectors and interact with him.
I think the postponement of the T20 World Cup probably led to his decision to call it a day. Perhaps, he would have taken a last shot if the IPL had been held on schedule and then taken part in the World Cup for the last time.
What I admired was his clarity in his thought process. He was a good thinker of the game and that helped him to take instinctive decisions. I remember how he outthought Pakistan in the super over in the inaugural T20 World Cup. He used non-bowlers like (Virender) Sehwag, Robin Uthappa and others. His thinking was that these bowlers would not have any pressure and trusted them. Even playing a rookie like Joginder Sharma and bowling him in the last over. This was all in his first assignment as skipper.
Even in the 2011 World Cup, he promoted himself ahead of Yuvraj Singh. It was one of the great decisions. There was a lot of talk on Dhoni’s retirement. We all know what Dhoni has done for Indian cricket. He has left an indelible mark. All good things will come to an end. All great players retire at some stage. Had the World Cup happened in Australia, he was still in the reckoning if the IPL had been on schedule.
It is a big salute to one of the greatest cricketers, who was widely respected in the cricket World. The chants of Dhoni, Dhoni in the stadium will be missed but he will always remain in the hearts of the cricketing loving people. He wore the Indian flag on his heart.
(MSK Prasad is former chairman of National selection committee)