The three-match ODI series between India and England ended with an eight-wicket loss at Headingley in Leeds for the men in blue. Even as the focus was on England winning the ODI series, an otherwise kind act of taking the ball from the umpire created rumors that MS Dhoni was considering retirement from international cricket. The rather unusual act by the former India skipper left many people to believe that the stalwart might announce his retirement from all forms of cricket.
The comfortable win for England, affected by Eoin Morgan and Joe Root, ended India’s 9-series-winning run in bilateral ODI series since 2016. It was also the first ODI series loss for Kohli as captain. But, beyond the current skipper, MS Dhoni’s act raised eyebrows after the third ODI.
As the teams walked back to the dressing room, MS was spotted taking the match ball from the umpires and the incident is likely to have created retirement speculations among his ardent fans. It is worth reminding that when MS Dhoni played his last Test match, against Australia in 2014 in which he had taken the stumps with him despite the match ending in a draw. Usually, players take the stump with them on as a memorabilia of a winning occasion.
WATCH – MS Dhoni Affected A Magical Run-out
The video of the incident has gone viral on various social media platforms which led to the rumors as well. He has come under immense scrutiny in the last two matches for his slow innings and his match-winning exploits of the past not as frequent anymore. During his labored knock of 37 runs in the second ODI against England at Lord’s he was even booed by the fans. Even in the series decider, Dhoni scored 42 runs but played too many dot balls against the spinners with the surface assisting the tweakers.
Here is the video of the incident:
Here's the video of the MS Dhoni taking the ball from umpires after the game. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/C14FwhCwfq
— Sai Kishore (@KSKishore537) July 17, 2018
Dhoni’s knock of 42 from 66 balls comprising of just 4 fours came at a strike rate of 63.64 which annoyed many India fans as the men in blue finished the innings with 256/8 – a total Kohli acknowledged was “25-30 runs short”.
