4 reasons why MS Dhoni should retire from international cricket
(The opinions expressed in the article are the author's own and do not necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand on the same.)
One of the pertinent questions asked to Sourav Ganguly after it was learnt that he was going to take over as new Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President was about the future of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Ganguly stated that he would speak to both Dhoni and the selectors to figure out the way ahead.
Dhoni has not played a single international game since India's exit in the World Cup 2019 semifinals. He skipped the West Indies tour, home series against South Africa and, according to recent reports, he will remain unavailable for selection till November.
During his time away from the game, Dhoni, an honourary lieutenant colonel in the Army, spent two weeks serving the Indian Army. As the suspense over Dhoni’s future continues, here are four strong reasons why one feels the former captain should call it quits.
#4 Dhoni’s well past his prime
There are no doubts about the fact that Dhoni is well past his prime. This was clear even before the World Cup 2019. Considering his vast experience and maturity, Dhoni was always the right choice over Rishabh Pant in the World Cup. Although Dhoni did not set the tournament on fire with his pyrotechnics, he did play a defiant knock in the semifinals, until he was brilliantly run out.
However, it was in the World Cup itself that India’s worst nightmare came true as Dhoni failed to accelerate against England, and India ended up losing to the eventual champions from a reasonably good position. It was a situation that had been building up over the years.
While Dhoni’s overall strike rate in ODI cricket is 87.56, since January 2018, it has fallen to 78.54 owing to his inability to rotate the strike. And, even though he averages a healthy 41.66 during this period, it is significantly lower than his overall average of 50.57.