Former Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, has delivered blunt remarks on the retirement of talismanic Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, MS Dhoni.
The Rawalpindi Express affirmed that Dhoni should’ve retired after the semifinals of the ICC World Cup 2019 held in England.
Dhoni could not finish the game against New Zealand in his trademark manner of taking the game deep into the final overs.
India was left with too much to do in the end. Dhoni’s dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin for expectations of finals.
Since then, the Jharkhand stalwart has not featured in any competitive games, creating massive speculations regarding his retirement.
“This guy has served to the best of his ability. He should leave cricket with dignity. I don’t know why he dragged it for so long. He should have retired after the World Cup,” Akhtar was quoted as saying by PTI.
Dhoni resumed training in the prelude to the thirteenth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Head Coach Ravi Shastri had also stated that the doors are still open for MSD in the T20 World Cup 2020 squad, provided performs brilliantly in IPL 2020.
“As a country, you should let him go with a lot of respect and dignity. Give him a nice send-off. He has won you the World Cup and done wonders for India. He is a wonderful human being at the same time. But right now, he seems to be stuck,” added Akhtar.
“When he could not finish the game in the semifinal (against New Zealand). I felt he should have retired, but he can only answer why he didn’t,” questioned the former speedster.
It seems selectors and management have moved on from the prospect of the legendary finisher as the likes of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have replaced Dhoni in the limited-overs format.
