3 Reasons why this is the perfect time for MS Dhoni to retire
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been one of the greatest servants of Indian cricket for the last decade and a half. The talisman from Ranchi reached 10000 ODI runs in the recently-concluded ODI series against England. He has had a gigantic ODI career so far playing 321 games. Arguably, Dhoni is the greatest wicket-keeper batsman in the history of ODI cricket.
In recent times though, the great man has been under fire for not making it count. His strike rates along with his finishing abilities have greatly declined. It is clear that he isn't the Dhoni that he used to be in his prime.
One question everybody is asking is when will the great MSD hang up his boots. While the end of 2019 World Cup seems to be the obvious answer, it may not be a bad idea for him to do so 10 months before the tournament starts. Let us take a look at 3 reasons why this is the perfect time for MS Dhoni to retire.
#3. Long way to go before the World Cup
India will play a lot of ODI cricket before the 2019 World Cup. The itinerary includes Asia Cup in September and 5 ODIS against the West Indies at home for the remaining part of the year. In 2019, India play 3 ODIS in Australia before a limited-overs tour to New Zealand (5 ODIS) and then against host Australia in a 5-match ODI series.
This means India are certain to play 18 ODIs before the World Cup kicks off which is enough time to groom another wicket-keeper batsman. Also, considering the potential candidates are familiar to international cricket, they're less likely to take a lot of time to establish themselves.
With time not being a factor, India can afford to give plenty of chances to the candidate they see as the man who will don the wicket-keeping gloves in the 2019 World Cup.