MS Dhoni has retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, following the drawn Test against Australia in Melbourne.Virat Kohli will take over as India captain for the final Test of the series, which India have already lost, in Sydney. He chose to retire from Test Cricket with immediate effect in order to concentrate on ODI and T20 formats.
In recent months Dhoni suffered from fitness issues, missing five ODIs against Sri Lanka in November because of a hand injury, which also sidelined him from the first Test against Australia in Adelaide.
In addition to the pressure of leading India in all three formats, and the Chennai Super Kings franchise, for six years Dhoni has also had to play an extraordinary amount of matches. Since the start of 2008 - taking into account international matches across formats, IPL and Champions League T20 games - Dhoni has played 398 matches, the most for any cricket during this period. Suresh Raina is second with 369 games.
Dhoni did not play the first Test in the current series against Australia because of a thumb injury. In his absence, Virat Kohli led the team and won accolades for his attacking approach. Many former players declared that it was time for Kohli to take over the leadership from Dhoni given that the incumbent had been struggling to present any fresh approach.
Though Dhoni's place in India's Test side has not been under question, his batting form took a dip in 2014 and he averaged only 33 in 17 innings this year. His wicketkeeping has also deteriorated, in particular his ability to move laterally to take testing catches. India's overseas results have also suffered under Dhoni's leadership in recent years. Since 2011, they have won only two out of 22 away Tests and lost 13.
Dhoni, however, is India's most successful captain, having presided over 27 wins in his 60-Test tenure, which began in 2008. His first Test as captain was against South Africa in Kanpur in April that year, because of an injury to regular captain Anil Kumble, and he took over full time after Kumble retired following the Delhi Test against Australia in October. Dhoni led India to the No.1 Test ranking in 2009, a position they enjoyed until the tour of England in 2011.
Dhoni was one of India's greatest Test captains under whose leadership India became the No. 1 team in the test rankings, MS Dhoni, has decided to retire from Test cricket citing the strain of playing all formats of cricket. BCCI, while respecting the decision of MS Dhoni to retire from Test cricket, also thanked him for his enormous contribution to Test cricket and the laurels that he brought to India.
Posted By: Shreya Saraf, Campus brand ambassador Intern at: http://pickyouropinion.com
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