Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Wednesday, January 4, stepped down as the captain of the Indian One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 cricket teams.
Right or wrong decision from Dhoni?
The 35-year-old had earlier stated that he wanted to give the current India Test captain Virat Kohli enough time at the helm of the team before the 2019 ODI World Cup, which will be held in England and Wales.
Dhoni, who made his ODI debut in December 2004 against Bangladesh, is widely regarded as one of the greatest finishers in limited-overs cricket. He took over the ODI captaincy from Rahul Dravid in 2007.
The wicketkeeper-batsman holds several captaincy records: He has the most wins by an Indian captain in ODIs and also the most back-to-back wins by an Indian captain in ODIs.
"Mahendra Singh Dhoni has informed the BCCI, that he wishes to step down as the captain of the Indian Cricket Team from the One Day Internationals and the T20 Internationals formats of the game," the BCCI said in a statement.
Rahul Johri, CEO of BCCI, added: "On the behalf of every Indian cricket fan and the BCCI, I would like to thank MS Dhoni for his outstanding contribution as the captain of the Indian team across all formats. Under his leadership, Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket."
All eyes will now be on the selection committee meeting, scheduled for January 6, to pick the ODI squad. Dhoni will be available for selection.
Dhoni had earlier retired from the Test cricket in 2014 paving way for Virat Kohli to take over the captaincy. Riding on a wave of 18 undefeated Test matches, Kohli is now a strong contender to become the captain in shorter formats as well.
DHONI STATS
Batting and fielding averages
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 90 | 144 | 16 | 4876 | 224 | 38.09 | 8249 | 59.11 | 6 | 33 | 544 | 78 | 256 | 38 |
| ODIs | 283 | 246 | 67 | 9110 | 183* | 50.89 | 10259 | 88.80 | 9 | 61 | 705 | 197 | 267 | 92 |
| T20Is | 73 | 63 | 32 | 1112 | 48* | 35.87 | 909 | 122.33 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 34 | 41 | 22 |
| First-class | 131 | 210 | 19 | 7038 | 224 | 36.84 | 9 | 47 | 364 | 57 | ||||
| List A | 347 | 305 | 79 | 11292 | 183* | 49.96 | 15 | 73 | 341 | 110 | ||||
| Twenty20 | 245 | 219 | 87 | 4954 | 73* | 37.53 | 3648 | 135.80 | 0 | 18 | 349 | 208 | 122 | 60 |
Bowling averages
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 90 | 7 | 96 | 67 | 0 | - | - | - | 4.18 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 283 | 2 | 36 | 31 | 1 | 1/14 | 1/14 | 31.00 | 5.16 | 36.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20Is | 73 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First-class | 131 | 126 | 87 | 0 | - | - | - | 4.14 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| List A | 347 | 63 | 53 | 2 | 1/14 | 1/14 | 26.50 | 5.04 | 31.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Twenty20 | 245 | 1 | 12 | 25 | 0 | - | - | - | 12.50 | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
