From Michael Clarke to Rohit Sharma, the global cricket fraternity on Thursday woke up singing paeans to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, hours after India's most successful skipper sprang a surprise by stepping down from limited overs captaincy. Former England skipper Michel Vaughan described Dhoni as one of the greatest captains to have ever led a cricket team. "Even one of the greatest captains of all time decides enough is enough ... Well done @msdhoni on an incredible leadership term," Vaughan wrote on his Twitter page.
Rohit Sharma once again showed his class in the limited overs format with a stylish unbeaten 124 as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead with a six-wicket victory in the third ODI, which was marred by unruly crowd behaviour, in Pallekele, on Sunday.
Dhoni's future has been widely speculated ever since India lost to New Zealand in the World Cup semifinal on July 9
'It felt good (to get to 40 ODI hundreds) but it is just a number'
Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana Joty slammed India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur for her conduct, stating that she brought up the umpiring issue as India ended up on the losing side in the third and final ODI.
An overwhelming win over Pakistan may have brought a lot of cheer to the Indian cricket team after an indifferent Australian Summer, but there are a few grey areas that are yet to be addressed by the side, including skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's poor run with the bat.
A potential conflict of interest situation could have played in Dhoni's mind when he decided to quit, report Sai Manish and N Sundaresha Subramanian.
The India ODI and T20 captain will be next seen in action in October during the limited overs leg of the series against New Zealand.
Images from the fifth One-Day International between Australia and India in Sydney, on Saturday.
Gut feeling and a sense of timing has always marked Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision making process in his illustrious captaincy stint and he once again showed that when he 'stumped' one and all with his decision to step down as skipper of India's limited overs team. No one knows whether Dhoni has read the poem 'Invictus' or watched Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman recite it in his deep baritone: "I am the Master of My fate, I am the Captain of My soul". The context of the poem may have been different but in spirit somewhere, Dhoni may find it eerily similar to his thought process leading up to the decision last night.
His talent has always been unquestionable but what has stood out for young Gujarat Titans southpaw Sai Sudharsan in this IPL is his impressive game awareness and decision making, traits he picked up during his maiden India stint in South Africa last year.
For him, selection for T20 World Cup shouldn't be based on one IPL season.
Kohli, the world's No 1 Test and ODI batsman, led India through a historic tour of Australia, during which the team won the Test and ODI rubbers and drew the T20 International series.
All eyes will be on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is expected to lay out his future plans upon return amid speculation that he might retire from international cricket.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said the team had found a 'perfect' bowling all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja, who once again produced a spirited show to help the hosts comfortably beat England by seven wickets in the third ODI in Ranchi on Saturday.
Former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale believes that K L Rahul deserves to be appointed as Test captain as he has performed in all the three formats of the game.
Praising centurion Virat Kohli for his superb batting in the team's series-levelling win against South Africa on Thursday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that it was the first game in which his team did well in all the three departments.
Opener Rohit Sharma smashed an unbeaten 124 to help India overcome a top-order wobble and register a series-clinching six-wicket victory in the third one-day international against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Sunday.
Lauding Mahendra Singh Dhoni's brave leadership, the legendary Kapil Dev felt it is the Indian captain's confidence in his players' ability that makes them believe they can retain the World Cup.
Former pace bowler Ajit Agarkar said that the biggest challenge for new India captain Rohit Sharma will be to maintain his fitness and play every game till next year's ODI World Cup.
India will eye another dominant performance against hosts England in a three- match ODI series
The confidence Kedar Jadhav has in his bowling comes from the fact that Mahendra Singh Dhoni used him as a surprise weapon during the ODI series at home against New Zealand last year.
Considered one of the greatest finishers in 50-overs cricket, Dhoni will join India's elite 'Club 300', which has Sachin Tendulkar (463), Rahul Dravid (344), Mohammed Azharuddin (334), Sourav Ganguly (311) and Yuvraj Singh (304).
In the ICC ODI team rankings, India remains in fifth place.
Talented Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey, who recently led the India A squad to a tri-series win in South Africa, made a comeback to the team.
Shoaib Akhtar said he hopes MS Dhoni gets a resounding farewell despite his resolute silence on what the future holds. Dhoni, who has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal in July, was preparing to make a much-anticipated comeback with the IPL, which is now unlikely to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
'Parthiv has to bat at No. 6, and in that position it is a different ball game.'
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels Mahendra Singh Dhoni is overstaying his time as India's limited over skipper and it is having debilitating effect on the Indian team.
Looking back at the five-match ODI series, rising South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada termed his one-on-one battle with Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the of opening contest in Kanpur as his best display of the series.
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who missed the last ODI series in Sri Lanka, are set to return to the Indian limited overs squad when the national selectors meet in Nagpur on Wednesday to name the team for the seven-match series against England commencing on November 14 at Rajkot.
Kirsten said it is not improbable if India can figure a way to make things right in the knockout games.
Tahir with figures of 4 for 27 was one of the architects of CSK's victory on the day.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, named the player of the series following India's 5-0 whitewash over England in the ODI tournament, jumped two places to reach the third spot in the latest ICC rankings on Wednesday.
India are on course for an effortless ODI series whitewash over Zimbabwe but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said he is concerned about the lack of opportunities for most of his batsmen in the tour so far. India posted an eight-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second One-day International to claim an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series here. "So far, only three of our top batsmen have got the chance to play. In the batting department we would like to make changes," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
There have always been question marks about temperament of Kohli. However, BCCI has always stood by him. Precisely what happened in Dhoni's case when Srinivasan was in charge. If this isn't a clear indication, what is?
Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has advised India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to be more flexible while deciding the playing eleven.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pointed out that performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) should not be the base for players being selected for Test and ODI matches.
'I don't think there are any issues because you see the knocks around, he is striking the ball beautifully and the strike rate is close to 100, if not over 100'
India promoted Dhoni up the order in the first T20 on Wednesday and the former skipper responded the team management's decision by making an unbeaten 39 off just 22 balls.
Former skipper Sourav Ganguly welcomed Rahul Dravid's return to India's ODI scheme of things, saying the experienced right-hander's inclusion in the side will be a bonus for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side at the Champions Trophy in South Africa later this year.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances