Twitter Reactions: MS Dhoni bids adieu to captaincy

India’s most successful skipper of all time, MS Dhoni stepped down as a captain from limited overs international. The decision came at the backdrop of the squad announcement for the England ODI series. While Dhoni is still available for selection as a wicketkeeper-batsman, fans from all over the cricketing world found it difficult to come to terms with he will not captain anymore.

In a journey that has sprung almost 10 years, Dhoni has every ICC trophy in his cabinet. His achievements as a captain have been significant and he’s probably the greatest ever ODI captain to have played the game after Ricky Ponting. He also holds the record of most matches as international captain in a whopping 331 matches followed by Ponting’s 324.

His cricketing decisions as a captain have been a marvel and he’s been quipped by many as destiny’s child. Thinking from his point of view, this would’ve been the right time to pass the baton to Kohli looking ahead at Champions Trophy and then the World Cup two years later.

“Mahendra Singh Dhoni has informed the BCCI, that he wishes to step down as the captain of the Indian cricket team from the One-Day Internationals and the T20 Internationals formats of the game,” BCCI stated in a press release.

Also read- Harsha Bhogle lauds MS Dhoni’s selfless decision to step down as captain

While the BCCI is yet to announce the new ODI captain, it’s likely that Virat Kohli would be taking over the captaincy of the limited overs side. The decision would probably be made on 6th January as selectors meet in Mumbai to pick the ODI and T20 squad for the England series.

Twitter congratulated him on his wonderful career as a captain and lauded him for the memories he provided in recent years. There was a huge outpour and support from all the fans who wished him luck for the future of his career. Here are some of the Twitter reactions that took place on Dhoni stepping down as the skipper.

From “giving last over to Joginder Sharma” to “stepping down as a captain”, Dhoni never failed to surprise us. #LoveYouDhoni

— ? (@zZoker) January 4, 2017

Loved everywhere from Mumbai to Southampton,
WC won for which we waited years to happen,
Now u pass the baton,
O Captain,My Captain!#Dhoni

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) January 4, 2017

And …he finishes it off in style! #Dhoni

— Deep Mehta (@mehtadeep) January 4, 2017

There is no one like you.
You're the reason for millions of smiles.
Take a bow my Captain.?@msdhoni #dhoni pic.twitter.com/NLRtTlcPhq

— Sushant Singh Rajput (@itsSSR) January 4, 2017

World T20, World Cup, Champions Trophy, Test No 1, IPL titles, Champions League titles. Everything in the game. #Dhoni

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 4, 2017

Giving up captaincy for team's future is a small sacrifice for a man who has come late in batting order for his entire career for the team.

— Sagar (@sagarcasm) January 4, 2017

Cool, modest, humble, sportsman, fighter. MS Dhoni has more qualities than the runs he made, stumps he took & matches he won #ThankYouDhoni

— Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) January 4, 2017

https://twitter.com/altcricket/status/816673407332913152

https://twitter.com/darrkeaage/status/816671979616997376

Dhoni's captaincy is inversely proportional to Dhoni's helicopter shots. No more Dhoni's captaincy means many more helicopter shots. ?

— Ojas. (@Ojasism) January 4, 2017

Dedhonitisation.

— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) January 4, 2017

Dhoni had left his natural game to focus on captaincy. Now he leaves captaincy to focus on his game.#Respect

— dumb गुज्जु (@imbhautik) January 4, 2017

He captained India to Cricket World Cup glory in 2011 – @msdhoni has just announced he is stepping down as India ODI and T20I captain. pic.twitter.com/WWxvUg5M3r

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) January 4, 2017

Most T20I wins as Captain: Dhoni
2nd Most ODI wins as Captain: Dhoni

Sums up the legacy of this man's leadership he left nothing to achieve

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 4, 2017

Post Sachin, you ensured the entire nation still loves cricket.#ThankYouDhoni https://t.co/hm8A9ZKPuw

— Dead Mau5hi (@AdvancedMaushi) January 4, 2017

Well done MS Dhoni. You will always be the Captain of the team of eleven captains.

— LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh) January 4, 2017

I sincerely hope @msdhoni will continue to be part of the team! Still much needed…

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 4, 2017

Just like that pic.twitter.com/DlomI2JV7I

— Pawan SinghA (@urbanpendu00) January 4, 2017

To go out as a captain without a big hoopla is clearly @msdhoni style.. he just walks away

— Maya (@Sharanyashettyy) January 4, 2017

MS Dhoni steps down as captain of the limited overs side. Raina can now consider his retirement from International cricket

— Shashi (@AllTimeBakchod) January 4, 2017

One of the quality of a great sportsman is that he knows when to step down and pass the baton to next generation. https://t.co/e0socY3n1G

— PhD in Bak*****!! (@Atheist_Krishna) January 4, 2017

2007 to 2016. End of an era. A glorious one with every title to be won on his CV. You have been a marvellous leader @msdhoni. Thank you! ??

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) January 4, 2017

This is time for Kohli to step up and make it count in all formats. Would be interesting to see how he uses Dhoni in the line up.

— Clive (@vanillawallah) January 4, 2017