Shoaib Akhtar lauds 'Ek Zamaane Ka Naam' MS Dhoni, recalls 2006 Musharraf haircut praise

Former India captain MS Dhoni called it quits from international cricket on Saturday, thereby bringing an end to a glorious career that spanned nearly 16 years. The CSK captain, who hung his boots from the longest format of the game in 2014, decided to call it a day from the limited-overs formats as well. However, Dhoni is expected to lead Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the upcoming IPL 2020, which is set to be played in the UAE from September 19.

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MS Dhoni retirement: Shoaib Akhtar heaps praise galore on the CSK captain

MS Dhoni announced his retirement through a video on Instagram which featured the top moments of his cricketing journey since making his debut in 2004. He captioned the video, "Thanks. Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. From 1929 hrs consider me as Retired." As soon as MS Dhoni announced his retirement, social media went berserk as wishes from all over the world started pouring in.

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was also quick to tweet and wish MS Dhoni on his retirement from international cricket. Shoaib Akhtar heaped praised on the CSK captain and also mentioned that he’d come up with a video tribute for the former Indian skipper. And in no time, the 'Rawalpindi Express' has come up with a video where he spoke in length about MS Dhoni and lauded several qualities that the 2011 World Cup-winning captain possesses.

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At the start of the video, Shoaib Akhtar said "Ek zamaane ka naam Dhoni, ek era ka naam Dhoni and ek achche insaan ka naam Dhoni". Shoaib AKhtar further pointed out five great qualities of the cricketer, calling him a match-winner, a great captain and a humble person. Shoaib Akhtar also mentioned that MS Dhoni is one of the nicest people he ever came across.

Shoaib Akhtar went on to recall several wonderful moments from MS Dhoni’s career. He remembered the 2006 incident involving MS Dhoni, which involved former Pakistan premier Pervez Musharraf publicly requesting MS Dhoni not to cut his long hair, which was extremely popular back then.

Shoaib Akhtar reckoned that he was expecting a grand farewell for MS Dhoni. He added not that the CSK captain would crave for something like that, but just to recognize and honour all his achievements for India. Shoaib Akhtar also recalled an incident when MS Dhoni wanted to go out with him on a bike ride in Pakistan but he couldn't because of work commitments. Shoaib Akhtar also remembered MS Dhoni's knock in Faisalabad where the latter thrashed the former mercilessly, which led to the former Pakistani pacer bowling a beamer intentionally for the first time in his career.

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Shoaib Akhtar lauded the Ranchi lad's cricketing sense and said that it was this that set him apart from the other cricketers. The Pakistan international even said that no other captain might ever achieve what Dhoni achieved as a captain. Shoaib Akhtar reckoned that Dhoni deserves all the glory and admiration.

MS Dhoni stats

MS Dhoni stats are nothing short of spectacular especially in limited over formats. MS Dhoni stats include the 350 ODIs he played for Indian where he scored 10,773 runs at a staggering average of 50.58 and a strike-rate of 87.56. The CSK captain has 73 fifties and 10 centuries to his name in his ODI career. On the other hand, the Ranchi lad played 98 T20Is for India where he notched 1,617 runs at an average of 37.6 and a strike-rate of 126.13. MS Dhoni stats also include 90 Test appearances where he amassed 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09. The 39-year-old scored 33 fifties, six hundreds and one double-hundred in a decade-long Test career.

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IMAGE COURTESY: SHOAIB AKHTAR YOUTUBE/ PTI