Indian cricket's big guns Dhoni, Raina retire

MS Dhoni, Indian cricket's most successful captain has announced his retirement. Dhoni made the confirmation through a video on Instagram, its caption reading: "Thanks. Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired." 

After World Cup winning Indian captain MS Dhoni's announcement of retirement,  Suresh Raina has also announced retirement from international cricket.

Raina wrote on instagram, "It was nothing but lovely plalying with you @mahi7781. With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind!"

The left-handed batsman from Uttar Pradesh made 18 Test, 226 ODI and 78 T20I appearances for India. The Chennai Super Kings stalwart was one of the members of the 2011 World Cup winning squad.

Dhoni retires as Indian cricket's most successful limited-overs international captain, having won three ICC trophies - 2007 T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup 2011 and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. He last played international cricket during the semifinal of the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup where India lost to New Zealand.

Having announced his retirement from Test cricket in December of 2014, Dhoni carried on playing ODIs and T20Is, leading India to the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup and the 2016 World T20. With 10,733 runs from 350 matches, Dhoni is fifth in the list of India's all-time run-scorers in ODI behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Dhoni's future was a hot topic of speculation since his sabbatical from cricket since India's World Cup exit. Ever since the defeat to New Zealand, Dhoni did not play any form of cricket in the last one year, hinting he might have played his last in India colours. Dhoni, however, would be turning up in the IPL where he will captain the Chennai Super Kings in the tournament's 13th season in the UAE.

Dhoni burst on to the scene as a 23-year-old batsman, making his India debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in December of 2004. The following year, he slammed his maiden ODI hundred - 148 vs Pakistan at Vizag which shot him to prominence. After a disappointing 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, Dhoni was given charge of a young Indian team to play the first-ever T20 World Cup in South Africa, where India beat Pakistan in a riveting final to clinch the title.

From there, Dhoni's career as batsman and captain took off and reached unprecedented heights. In March of 2008, he led India to the CB tri-series win in Australia, beating the hosts in back-to-back finals. In 2009, he shepherded India to the pinnacle of ICC Test Championships, establishing him as India's best captain in a long time. He overtook Sourav Ganguly as India's most successful Test captain with a 22nd win.