Former India captain Virat Kohli on Thursday echoed the thoughts of thousands of MS Dhoni fans and wished the Chennai Super Kings star after he quit as skipper of the four-time Indian Premier League champions. Kohli took to social media to praise Dhoni for his hugely successful tenure as CSK captain.
The message from Virat Kohli comes afterwards MS Dhoni decided to hand over the captaincy to CSK to Ravindra Jadeja, 2 days before the 2021 IPL season. CSK confirmed the move, adding that Dhoni “will continue to represent Chennai Super Kings this season and beyond”.
Also read: An IPL without MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli as captain
Virat Kohli, who idolizes his former captain MS Dhoni, has shared many memorable moments with the world champion skipper. Kohli and Dhoni always had time to chat before or after IPL games in which they were in charge of their respective franchises.
“Legendary tenure as captain in the yellow skip. A chapter fans will never forget. Always respect,” Kohli said in a social media post.
MS Dhoni, in his inimitable style, ended a glorious chapter in IPL history when he made another unforeseen announcement, 2 years after surprising the Cricket Brotherhood with his decision to announce his retirement from international cricket.
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Dhoni ends up being one of the most accomplished captains in IPL history, winning four titles (2011, 2012, 2018, 2021). He led CSK in 204 games, winning 121 of them.
When CSK was banned for two years following the outbreak of the spot fixing scandal, Dhoni had represented Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, again with CSK, Dhoni had one of his best years with the racquet in the IPL, hitting 455 runs with a batting average of 150.66 to help CSK win the title.
MS Dhoni is the most famous Indian captain. He led India to glory at the 2007 T20 World Championship, the 2011 ODI World Championship and the 2013 Champions Trophy. In the IPL, Dhoni was synonymous with the Super Kings, leading them to 4 title triumphs. After a poor season in 2020, MS Dhoni faced criticism before storming back to win the 2021 IPL.
Notably, IPL 2021 is the last time both Kohli and Dhoni remained as captains in the money-rich league, which had capitalized on the star power of the country’s two cricket icons. Kohli gave up his captaincy at Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of last season. Faf du Plessis has been named as Kohli’s successor for IPL 2022.
