'End of an era': Sourav Ganguly Pays Glowing Tribute To MS Dhoni After The Latter Retires

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has paid a glowing tribute to MS Dhoni after the legendary wicketkeeper-batsman announced his retirement from international cricket on Saturday. The 38-year old, whose future with Team India was a major point of discussion since last year’s World Cup, brought down curtains on his career out of the blue.

Dhoni had earlier quit Test cricket in 2014 after the Melbourne Test on the tour of Australia and had handed over ODI and T20I captaincy to Virat Kohli in January 2017. In a career that spanned over 15 years, he played the roles of wicketkeeper, finisher and captain to perfection.

The most decorated skipper in the history of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni led India to glory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

His last ODI was his 350th for India, wherein he finished with a fighting 72-ball 50 against New Zealand at the 2019 World Cup which proved insufficient in the end. Dhoni, who finished with 10,773 runs at an average of 50.57 in ODIs, is the fifth Indian to surpass the 10,000-run mark in the 50-over format. In T20Is, he played 98 games, scoring 1617 runs at a strike rate of 126.13.

Sourav Ganguly’s tribute to Dhoni:

As soon as MS Dhoni made his decision public, Sourav Ganguly joined the cricketing world in paying tribute to one of the modern-day legends. The former India skipper said that with Dhoni’s retirement, an era has ended. Sourav Ganguly said it would be hard for others to match Dhoni’s leadership qualities.

“It is the end of an era. What a player he has been for the country & world cricket. His leadership qualities have been something, which will be hard to match, especially in the shorter format of the game,” he said.

“His batting in one-day cricket in his early stages made the world stand up and notice his flair and sheer natural brilliance. Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolutely brilliant one.

“He has set the standards for the wicketkeepers to come and make a mark for the country. He will finish with no regrets on the field. An outstanding career; I wish him the best in life,” added Sourav Ganguly who was the captain when Dhoni made his ODI debut in 2004.

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