MS Dhoni’s retirement announcement on August 15 brought an end to his 16-year international career. Billions of fans were heartbroken while every cricketer paid tribute to a man who had made India the powerhouse of modern cricket. However, one individual admitted that he was shocked by the decision made by Dhoni to retire, with the former skipper just announcing it on his Instagram handle. KL Rahul, who has been touted as the next limited-overs permanent keeper, has said that Dhoni should have been given a bigger send-off. Rahul admitted that he was really heartbroken that Dhoni would no longer don the Indian jersey.
“It was quite shocking. I was honestly heartbroken. I’m sure all of us in the team or whoever has played under him and with him would have wanted to give him a big send-off and wanted him to play one more time so we could have had that opportunity to do something special for him. It is what it is,” Rahul said.
A guiding force
Dhoni helped India scale the summit of the Test rankings in 2009 but he will always be remembered as the only captain in history to win all three major ICC tournaments which is the World T20, World Cup and the Champions Trophy. In addition to his captaincy, Dhoni was an ace keeper and tactically sound. His batting down the order led to many memorable finishes and he became an excellent finisher of the game who would dramatically take India over the line.
“He has been someone who has guided us all really, really well. And who has never expected us to change who we are. He has let us go out there and express ourselves and make our mistakes and learn from them. He has just let us be. If we were ever in doubt, or if we wanted to look to somebody for answers, he was always there. He knew when to push the players,” Rahul said.
When Dhoni made the decision, Rahul said he could not find the words to express his feeling. “What do you say about somebody like that? You don’t have enough to say about how much he has done and how many lives he has changed and for how many people he is an inspiration - not just on the field but off the field as well with the things he has achieved. It is phenomenal,” Rahul said.
