T
here has been much speculation made
about Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s retirement
decision following his below par perfor-
mances thus far in the ICC Cricket World
Cup 2019. Even as Dhoni has reportedly
denied knowing when he himself wants to
hang up his boots, not just his critics but also, the
International Cricket Council (ICC) has thrown shade
on the subject.
The buzz around Dhoni’s speculated retirement
gathered ground with the ICC deciding to post a tribute
video about the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman who led
India to only its second World Cup title in 2011. While
the timing would suggest that this could, also, be in
conjunction to coincide with his birthday, the idea that
some corners of concerned Indian fans are gunning for
the player to hang up his boots are rather confounding,
to put it mildly.
Dhoni is esteemed for his uncanny prowess with the
bat and for his ability to be one of the game’s best fin-
ishers. It is his reputation as a cool, calm customer
willing to take the match to the final ball that has been
highly revered for being courageous, daring, rare and
outstanding. While it is true that some of the other
players in the Indian cricket team could pull up their
socks as far as their batting is concerned, the idea of
Dhoni being targeted alone is rather unjustified.
There has to be some merit that this is not a ‘witch
hunt’ given that there are other esteemed former crick-
eters including Brendon McCullum along with SachinBY SREELATA S. YELLAMRAZU
Left: Dhoni is esteemed
for his uncanny prowess
with the bat.
Below: Indian fans are
gunning for the player to
hang up his boots.
JULY 12, 2019 CRICKET TODAY 15