MS Dhoni's retirement: 3 things that have gotten worse since 15th August 2020

Former India captain MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on this day, August 15, 2020.

In his inimitable style, the Indian legend took to social media and shared a video, which encapsulated his amazing journey in the game. Dhoni posted the clip with the caption:

“Thanks - Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired.”

The 42-year-old keeper-batter made his debut for India in December 2004 and went on to establish himself as one of the all-time great batters and captains in white-ball cricket. The right-handed batter featured in exactly 350 ODIs, scoring 10773 runs at an average of 50.57, with 10 hundreds and 73.

In T20Is, Dhoni scored 1617 runs in 98 matches at an average of 37.60 and a strike rate of 126.13. While his technique was exposed to some extent in overseas Tests, Dhoni still averaged a decent 38.09 from 90 matches, scoring six tons.

As captain, of course, he led India to victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 Champions Trophy. Dhoni’s contribution to Indian cricket, though, goes way beyond numbers.

On that note, we look at three things that have gotten worse in Indian cricket since Dhoni’s international retirement.

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#1 India’s finishing department

MS Dhoni retired from international cricket three years ago. (Pic: Getty Images)

Team India were heavily reliant on Dhoni as a finisher in limited-overs cricket. Three years since his retirement, they are struggling in the department.

Ravindra Jadeja has played some impressive knocks as finisher for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the left-hander hasn’t been able to replicate the same at the international level, although he remains a key figure in the team.

Hardik Pandya briefly promised to be the new finisher in the Indian team. However, lately, he seems more inclined to be a player who wants to build the innings. Pandya’s form too has not been the same in recent times. On the just concluded tour of the West Indies, he struggled to make much of an impact.

The Men in Blue continue to have high hopes for explosive keeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who is currently out due to injury. However, while the left-hander has produced some outstanding performances in Test cricket, he is yet to find his bearings in the limited-overs formats.

India will be desperate for that to change soon.

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#2 Split of 'KulCha'

Kuldeep Yadav (left) celebrates a wicket with Yuzvendra Chahal. (Pic: Getty Images)

Both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have candidly admitted that they felt lost for a while in international cricket once Dhoni was no longer behind the stumps.

Dhoni, being the shrewd cricketer that he is, guided both the spinners towards the fag end of his career and played a big role in the success of 'KulCha'.

There was a period when the Indian spin duo dominated world cricket and the Dhoni stamp behind their accomplishments was evident. However, things changed drastically once Dhoni left, and 'KulCha' was not the same again.

In an eye-opening interview with The Indian Express in May 2021, Kuldeep opened up on the absence of Dhoni behind the wickets.

"Sometimes I miss that guidance because he (Mahi) has great experience. He used to guide us behind the wicket, kept screaming! We miss his experience… When Mahi bhai was there, I and Chahal were playing. Ever since Mahi bhai left, Chahal and I haven’t played together. I played only a handful of games after Mahi bhai left,” he said.

Both Kuldeep and Chahal went on to get dropped from the Indian team after losing form. They have made impressive comebacks since then.

However, it has mostly been a case of only one of the two featuring in the playing XI. As a pair, 'KulCha' has clearly never been the same since Dhoni’s exit.

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#3 Absence of mentor on the field

MS Dhoni’s absence is still being felt in Indian cricket. (Pic: Getty Images)

Another reason why Team India continues to miss the presence of someone like Dhoni on the field is that they don’t have another mentor like him. The former Indian captain had the ability to galvanize the players when the chips were down.

In recent years, there have been a number of instances when Team India have looked completely clueless on the field. The T20 World Cup 2021 matches against Pakistan and New Zealand come to mind. Yes, Dhoni was part of the team as a mentor, but off the field.

In the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England as well, the Men in Blue were listless as they succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat. These are times when Indian cricket and fans miss Dhoni even more.