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These days, it doesn't take much to get Twitterati up in arms about anything. After England beat India by eight wickets in the third ODI and clinched the series 2-1, a seemingly innocuous incident sent Twitter into overdrive, with many speculating whether this would be the last time that Dhoni plays for India.
After being booed by a section of the Indian fans during the second ODI at Lord's, where he scored 37 off 59 as India lost by 86 runs, Dhoni played another uncharacteristically slow 42 in the third ODI. But that wasn't even the reason for the speculation about Dhoni's retirement.
Following India's defeat, footage of former skipper MS Dhoni taking the match ball from the umpires before walking back to the pavilion emerged. And that led many wondering whether that is the beginning of the end for the 37-year-old.
The not altogether uncommon scene of a player taking the match ball led many on Twitter to speculate whether the 37-year-old was going to announce his retirement from international cricket. And in the post-match press conference, neither Indian captain Virat Kohli nor fast bowler Shardul Thakur said anything about the speculation on Twitter.
While it is true that Dhoni took the stumps following a drawn Test against Australia, which turned out to be his last Test, this could also be an instance of the former Indian skipper collecting memorabilia from what could likely be his last bilateral series in England.
With the World Cup to take place in England next year, pictures of Dhoni taking home the match ball had the Twitterati speculating wildly about whether he is considering a surprise retirement, just like he did, from the longest format of the game during the 2014 tour of Australia.
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