I exercised all my authority as BCCI president to save MS Dhoni's captaincy in 2011: N Srinivasan

A day after MS Dhoni bowed out of the international cricket, former BCCI president N Srinivasan got absolutely candid about his experiences on how he used his power in 2011-12 to retain captain cool as skipper of the side. Australia hammered Men in Blue by a massive margin of 0-4 in a Test series, and there were doubts hovering over Dhoni’s potential.

When India was caught in such a tight spot against Kangaroos, the selection committee was giving thoughts to remove Ranchi Stalwart from his position without even having a replacement in mind. Ex BCCI boss Srinivasan revealed that he got his absolute power into play and retained him as the leader of the side.

“This was 2011. India had won the World Cup. And (then) in Australia, we didn’t do well in the Tests. So, one of the selectors wanted to remove him (Dhoni) as the ODI captain. 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,” Srinivasan told The Indian Express.

I came and said MS Dhoni would be the captain: N Srinivasan

“In fact, it was a holiday. I was playing golf. I came back. Sanjay Jagdale was the (BCCI) secretary at that time and he said, ‘Sir, they (selectors) are refusing to choose the captain. They will take him (Dhoni) in the team’. I came and said MS Dhoni (would be the captain). I exercised all my authority as the (BCCI) president.”

When fans awaited the captain cool to display his class and finesse for some more years in the international arena, he chose to walk out the game in the most silent way. In a shocking turn of events, the 39-year-old announced his retirement through a post on Instagram that captioned “Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired.”

The CSK skipper is with his team in Chennai for a training camp ahead of the big tournament coming up next month. The team will touchdown UAE around 21-22 August most probably.