MS Dhoni announced his retirement on 15th August. Soon after, Suresh Raina also announced his retirement in all forms of international cricket. They both had an amazing career in international cricket as well as domestic cricket. Also had a big contribution to where Indian Cricket stands now. MS Dhoni has led India to a T20 World Cup victory in 2007, India’s first ICC Cricket World Cup after 28 years in 2011, and ICC Champions Trophy in 2013. He is the only captain in the world to have won all three trophies.
Suresh Raina was a big part of MS Dhoni’s squad during the time he led India to success. He was always along with MS Dhoni whether in international cricket or domestic cricket. He was an important player in India’s glory towards the 2011 ICC World Cup.
MS Dhoni’ Career
MS Dhoni was born in Ranchi and started his career in football. He was selected to play at district and club level football. MS Dhoni was a goalkeeper in football and was asked to join the cricket team by his coach. Although, he didn’t have any experience in cricket. However, he impressed everyone with his wicket-keeping skills. This is where his incredible journey in cricket started. MS Dhoni also worked as a Ticket Checker at a railway station from 2001 to 2003. During that time he had started playing in Ranji Trophy for the Bihar cricket team and Jharkhand cricket team. After his consistent performances, he started to get recognition and made his place in India A team.
As MS Dhoni made his mark in India A he was selected for the series against Bangladesh in 2004. However, his debut didn’t go well. He was run-out on a duck. He had his breakthrough in his career in the very next series against Pakistan. MS Dhoni scored 148 runs in 123 deliveries. But his knock against Sri Lanka is what made him famous breaking many records. He scored an unbeaten 183 runs off 145 balls, the score which broke many records. MS Dhoni was named captain to lead the first-ever T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007. He led India to victory against Pakistan in the final.
Not only MS Dhoni was a successful captain for in India in international cricket but also domestic cricket (Indian Premier League) for Chennai Super Kings. Under his captaincy, Chennai Super Kings have played in 10 finals in the Indian Premier League. However, winning only thrice in 2010, 2011, and 2018.
Soon, MS Dhoni became India’s captain in limited-overs cricket from 2007 to 2016. He also captained India in Test Cricket form 2008 to 2014. Under MS Dhoni’s captaincy team India has been very successful in all formats of cricket winning many trophies and achieved many records.
International Trophies under MS Dhoni’s captaincy
- India achieved 1st rank in Test cricket for the first time in 2009.
- First ever ICC T20 World Cup in 2007.
- ICC World Cup in 2011.
- ICC Champions Trophy in 2013.
- Asia Cup in 2010 and 2016.
MS Dhoni wanted to play the T20 World Cup 2020 and retire after the competition. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the T20 World Cup is now postponed to the next year 2021. Hence, forcing MS Dhoni to retire before playing the World Cup.
Suresh Raina’s Career
Suresh Raina was born in Uttar Pradesh. He made his ODI debut for India at a very young age of 19 against Sri Lanka in 2005. And in the very next year, he made his debut in T20 cricket. Although he made his debut in limited-overs cricket at a very early age, he wasn’t a regular player in the squad. His breakthrough came in 2010, where he was called up for the matches against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. He also captained India against them and also in a T20 series against Zimbabwe. Later, in 2011 he was in the squad for the World Cup. However, he played his first match against Australia in the Quarter Final of the World Cup.
Suresh Raina is an excellent fielder who has taken amazing catches in the outfield. Also, he is a great aggressive left-handed middle-order batsman. Yet, he struggled to keep his name in the squad consistently throughout his career. He struggled with short deliveries. Even so, Suresh Raina is the first-ever Indian batsman to score centuries in all formats of international cricket. Also, the only Indian batsman to score centuries in T20 and ODI World Cup. He also has many more records in the Indian Premier League. First-ever player to reach 5000 runs in IPL. Most catches in IPL(95).He is known as Mr.IPL for his consistent performances in Indian Premier League throughout the years for Chennai Super Kings and Gujrat Lions.
In an interview on India Today news channel yesterday, Indian journalist Boria Majumdar revealed that MS Dhoni went to the Army as he couldn’t digest what happened in the 2019 World Cup semi-final. He said the only reason MS Dhoni went to the Army because he wanted an escape from cricket. He was sleeping outdoors during the Army camp. The run-out in the semi-final against New Zealand was still haunting him. MS Dhoni still regrets not diving during his run-out. If he would have dived he would have been not out and probably leading India in the Final.
MS Dhoni has given us countless memories. Especially the six to win the World Cup 2011 for India after 28 years. It is a moment that every Indian cricket fan will cherish for years to come. He was India’s most successful captain winning all the ICC trophies.
