MS Dhoni jokes about retirement with Sanjay Bangar: The Indian wicket-keeper was jocular about his retirement plans.
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Former India captain and current wicket-keeper batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni was declared the ‘Man of the series’ for scoring 193 runs in three matches at an average of 193 and a strike rate of 73.10 including three half-centuries. Having last won it in 2011, it has taken Dhoni more than seven years to earn another such award.
The Sydney ODI was the first cricket match for Dhoni after nearly a two and a half month hiatus. Therefore, there weren’t much expectations from him, leave aside him finishing the series as India’s leading run-scorer.
#Dhoni‘s Man of the Series performances:
in 2009 vs Windies
in 2019 vs AustraliaChallenges are temporary, MS Dhoni is permanent! 😍 #2009vs2019 #10YearChallenge pic.twitter.com/0BBE5uK6aY
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 18, 2019
What’s unusual for me about this photograph? My first with MS Dhoni. Amazing how unaffected he was by the result or by his performance https://t.co/741GaixHsD
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 18, 2019
Having said that, the 37-year old cricketer astonished one and all with his performance in all the three matches. The fact such an effort came after his worst year (in terms of number of runs scored) in ODIs spoke a lot about the temperamental side of things for him.
Citing his lean patch, there were numerous calls for Dhoni to retire from international cricket. Some people had went on to the extent of demanding Dhoni to call it a day despite a looming ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Now that is the performance of a champion. MS Dhoni is man of the series. Brilliant.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 18, 2019
If reliable had to be described, it would’ve #Dhoni written all over it. Congratulations, #TeamIndia. What a special win!! @msdhoni @BCCI #INDvsAUS
— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) January 18, 2019
After India won the third ODI, Dhoni was seen taking the ball along with him to the dressing room. It is worth mentioning that Dhoni had done the same during the third ODI against England which had further sparked the news of him retiring at the highest level.
In a celebratory video posted by Cricket Australia, Dhoni is saying handing the ball to batting coach Sanjay Bangar. “Ball uthaya toh bolenge retirement ke liye uthaya hai, (If I take the ball, everyone will say that I am retiring from cricket)“ Dhoni handed the ball to Bangar while joking about his retirement with Bangar. Watch the full video below:
Another chance for Team India to celebrate on their Aussie tour! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/7D53QNX6hs
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 18, 2019