It's hard to believe it's already been more than a year since we last saw MS Dhoni in India jersey, after that fateful encounter against the New Zealand in World Cup semis he hasn't stepped onto the field for any type of competitive cricket. And during this time fans and former cricketers alike have been speculating about the man's future going forward since he himself hasn't given any public interview or statement. But looking at the signs it might be safe to say that we've seen the last of this legendary finisher in India jersey.
Ever since beginning Dhoni never seemed one of those players who were fussed about numbers because if he were he wouldn't have announced his test retirement at 90 tests, fully aware of the fact that he still had test cricket left in him. And he also wouldn't have chosen to bat at number 5 and 6, being aware of the fact that centuries aren't scored at those numbers. But he knew being a captain he had to take more responsibilities on himself. As a captain he was always more focussed on process than results because he believed if you do the process right results will follow more often than not. And for him team always came first than individual achievements or milestones.
If you look at his numbers from last year or two, both his average and strike rate had began dropping and although he was still finishing matches, it was clear that he is by no stretch of imagination the Dhoni of old. And as one of his millions of fans I would love to see him on the field one more time in an India jersey, but looking at Dhoni from the distance all these years he himself would not want to take up a youngster' spot I he feels he's not up for the challenge.
When we look at the current men's ODI cricket team right now it looks more settled then it has ever looked in the last 3-4 years with KL Rahul fitting beautifully in that number 5 spot and Shreyas Iyer occupying the number 4 spot. Similarly in the T20I (men's) team Manish Pandey has made excellent use of the limited opportunities he's had as finisher and shown the team management he's capable of finishing matches if need be. And denying these players the spots they've earned just because Dhoni is back wouldn't be fair neither for them nor for the team. And he might have made a strong case for himself for the T20 World Cup that was scheduled to happen this year in October by his performances in the IPL, but due to this COVID-19 pandemic it seems in all likelihood that this tournament will be postponed to next year.
But we can say or write whatever we like, the fact of the matter is these are all speculations and no one except MS Dhoni himself knows the answer to this question. Who knows he might still be playing in the 2023 world cup, but even if doesn't play another match for India it's his call and his career. He and his career will always be celebrated no matter what, no one can take that six he hit off Kulsekhara to send the entire nation into a frenzy away from him. Neither can they take away his T20 World Cup and Champion's Trophy triumph. If Ganguly taught us that we are not inferior than any other team in the world, Dhoni taught us how to win those big moments and we should consider ourselves fortunate that we were able to witness a once in a generation player, captain and finisher at display.
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