In an unexpected move, MS Dhoni has stepped down as the ODI and T20I captain of Indian cricket team on Wednesday evening.
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Dhoni also led India in 72 T20 internationals, won 42 and lost 28. In December 2014, he retired from Tests after the Melbourne game against Australia. When many thought Dhoni would continue as captain, in his usual style, he surprised. Australia’s Ricky Ponting is second with 324 matches.
He has so far played 283 matches in format and has scores over 9,000 runs. Dhoni told the BCCI that he wished to be relieved of the captaincy of the side. But it does appear he tarried a bit after carrying his team to sensational performances in the theatre of limited-overs cricket. The captains who have led in more series are Arjuna Ranatunga (51), Stephen Fleming (49) and Ponting (48). Dhoni captained India in 199 ODIs, and he lost 74 and won 110.
“Dhoni is still irreplaceable when it comes to the shorter format of the game”. He still has plans to play global cricket for the next three to four years and play the 2019 World Cup. The eyes might not be the best now, the hands may have slowed, but the power is still very much there and an uncluttered mind can do great things, something Dhoni will now have the luxury of. He was also the first captain to the 1000-run landmark and only Faf du Plessis (1003) has reached the milestone since.
Dhoni could play the accelerators role by unearthing some devastating stroke play or play the accumulators role by milking the singles through the gaps, as the situation deemed.
Dhoni has been a complete package in ODIs and Twenty20Is.
Kohli has in the past 16 months led India to series wins against Sri Lanka (2-1), South Africa (3-0), West Indies (2-0), New Zealand (3-0) and England (4-0).
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If More gave him his first break, it was former India captain Dilip Vengsakar, whose selection committee discovered the potential of a natural leader in Dhoni, first giving him the reigns of the team at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.
