Exercised my authority to save MS Dhoni from getting removed as captain: Former BCCI President N Srinivasan

MS Dhoni left many of his fans and followers as well as people from the cricketing fraternity in shock after announcing his retirement from international cricket.

As per a report by The Indian Express, N Srinivasan revealed how had exercised his authority as the then Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President in 2011 to ensure that Dhoni was retained as the Indian captain.

Srinivasan said that one of the selectors in 2011 wanted to remove Dhoni as the ODI captain after the team did not perform well in the Tests against Australia.

“The point is, how do you remove him as the ODI captain? He had won the World Cup (just a few months ago). They (selectors) had not even thought of who would be his replacement. There was a discussion and then (before the formal meeting) I said there was no way in which he would not be a player,” the former BCCI president said.

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Srinivasan added that the then BCCI Secretary Sanjay Jagdale told him that the selectors were refusing to choose Dhoni as the captain but would keep him in the team.

The report quoted him as saying that he came in and said MS Dhoni would be the captain. He said, “I exercised all my authority as the (BCCI) president.”

The former BCCI president further said that he is glad that he stood his ground.

Dhoni made his retirement announcement at 7:29 pm on India’s Independence Day 2020 in an Instagram post.

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He had led India to victory in three ICC events — 2007 World T20, 2011 World Cup, and 2013 Champions Trophy — in addition to captaining the Indian squad to the No 1 position in Tests.

Dhoni is, however, expected to continue leading the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings (CSK), including in the 2020 edition of the league that will begin from 19 September in the UAE.

Dhoni made his international debut in the 2004-05 tour of Bangladesh. He last represented the country in the semi-final defeat to New Zealand in the 2019 ICC World Cup. He played a total of 350 ODIs and 98 T20Is and accumulated a total of 10,773 runs in One dayers, registering 10 centuries and 73 fifties along the way.

Dhoni also holds the record for most international matches as captain - 332 - and his 195 international stumpings is also the most by any wicketkeeper.