What’s the story?
Ahead of the start of the opening warm-up match between India A and England at the Cricket Club of India, skipper MS Dhoni has said he will lead his side in the Indian Premier League and will also perhaps captain his state side Jharkhand in the future.
Speaking at the toss to L Sivaramakrishnan, the 35-year-old said while it was his last game as captain in the Blue, he will lead the team in the franchise-based league and may also captain his state side in the future.
“It’s a special game, my last game as [India] captain but I’ll be captaining in IPL and probably Jharkhand as well,” Dhoni said at the toss.
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Dhoni had resigned as the Indian limited-overs captain last Wednesday, sending lakhs and lakhs of his fans into a state of mourning and during the team announcement for the series against England, Virat Kohli was unveiled as the skipper for India in both the formats.
He will lead India A in the opening warm-up match while Ajinkya Rahane will take up captaincy duties in the second game, scheduled for the 12th of January at the same venue.
The heart of the matter
In a captaincy tenure lasting over nine years, Dhoni won everything there is to win limited-overs cricket. Beginning with the 2007 World T20 in South Africa to the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, the Ranchi-born cricketer lifted every major title there was, thereby establishing himself as the greatest limited-overs leader the game has seen.
Dhoni himself led from the front in one of the biggest nights in Indian cricket, when he promoted himself in the final of the 2011 World Cup and made an unbeaten 91 to lead the country to their second World Cup triumph.
What’s next?
With no more captaincy responsibilities on his shoulders, Dhoni now has the opportunity to play with a lot more freedom with the bat in hand and Kohli said a few days back, it was now time for Dhoni to enjoy his cricket after having taken so much burden for his cricket.
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