Sourav Ganguly Talks about the Retirement of MS Dhoni

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly talks about the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying it as “inevitable”, however great he might be.

“Every big player has to hang up his shoes. That’s sport. Look at football, Maradona had to quit. There hasn’t been a bigger player than him. Tendulkar, Lara, Bradman.. everyone had to quit. This is the way system has been and will be. So this scenario will come for MS as well,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.

“Indian cricket will have to get used to the fact that MS Dhoni won’t be playing forever and he won’t be around for too long. But I believe this decision has to be taken by Dhoni himself.”

He said that the expectations on people like Dhoni will remain until he plays and that whether he should retire from cricket should be his decision.

“Because with players like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, until they play, there will be expectations that they will play like in this way and win matches in this fashion,” Ganguly said.

“I think Dhoni has to make this decision. Only a player knows how much fuel is left in the tank and how much of his match-winning ability is intact.”

“He is at that stage of his career where he has to evaluate where he stands. He has to decide if he can win matches for India. If he can continue to contribute like MS Dhoni, not someone else,” Ganguly said.

India are currently playing West Indies in West Indies, the tour which Dhoni opted out of. Dhoni, during the time, joined his regiment to undergo training with the Indian army. India have comprensively beaten West Indies in the T20Is and ODIs in Dhoni’s absence. They have also made a strong start to the test series with a crushing victory in the first test.

India play South Africa at home after the West Indies tour. It will be interesting to see how much Dhoni contributes to it.