Social media went abuzz with the news, updates and tributes when Indian cricket team's ODI and T20 format captain MS Dhoni stepped down on Wednesday evening.
Loved by millions of cricket fans world over, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has been touted as one of India's most successful captains. He, afterall, championed the cause and brought home world cup in 2011, 28 years after India won its first world cup in 1983.
Often called Captain Cool, his decision to step down came as a surprise and shock to his fans. But as Indian media reports, his decision on Wednesday, was anything but sudden.
The day he resigned, 4th January 2017, MS Dhoni was in Nagpur, India to be with Jharkhand's Ranji team who were playing against Gujarat.
Dhoni met Indian cricket team's chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad where both had a long chat. Later that evening, Dhoni signed off in three words, 'Ok, that's it!'
reported that MSK Prasad cited professional confidentiality that exists between a captain and his committee, and refused to divulge more — apart from lauding Dhoni’s “amazing clarity of thought”.
However, the report goes onto reveal that there was consensus among the selectors that this was the right time for Dhoni to step down and hand over the reins to Test Captain Virat Kohli.
With eyes on the upcoming World Cup in 2019 and Champions trophy, selectors wanted a period where Dhoni was still available to prepare Kohli to take up the reins of the team.
India's Virat Kohli(R)celebrates with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni after victory in the match between India and Pakistan at The Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium Source: Getty Images
“Virat is doing an excellent job with the Test team and we know he is ready. But the pressures of ODI captaincy are different. And they wanted MS to be around, overseeing matters on the field and guiding Virat as he takes his first few steps as the limited-overs captain,” Indian Express wrote quoting sources.
They finally the left the decision upon Dhoni.
'Ok, thats it!' is what he said to MSK Prasad announcing his resignation as the captain of the ODI and T20 format.
Dhoni plans to continuing playing for the ODI and T20 format. His agent Arun Pandey told The Indian Express that his client wasn’t going anywhere soon.
Virat Kohli is likely to take over from Dhoni though an official announcement is yet to be made. On Friday, Kohli took to Twitter to express his gratitude to MS Dhoni. "Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him," Kohli tweeted.
