Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, nearly sixteen years after he made his debut for the side in an ODI against Bangladesh. In a stellar international career, Dhoni represented India in 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20Is, leading the team to victory in all the three ICC limited-overs tournaments.
On Monday, the BCCI shared a compilation video of the messages poured in by Indian cricketers, who played with -- and under MS Dhoni during his time in the international side. Indian captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and head coach Ravi Shastri were among the series of Indian cricket stars who paid their tributes to Dhoni. (Watch: 'You will always be my captain': Virat's heartfelt tribute for Dhoni)
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma said that his achievements with the Indian team will "remain unmatched."
"Your achievements over the years with the team will always remain umatched. What you've done over the years cannot be described in a video because it's so much. I just want to wish you the best for the future and hope you will have a brilliant second innings in the future," Rohit said.
Indian speedster Jasprit Bumrah, who also made his debut for the side under the captaincy of Dhoni, said, "Mahi bhai is the person I always looked up to. The way he conducts himself, the humbleness, the aura, the calming influence that he has with the team has always been inspiring. When I made my debut, I played under him, that was a special feeling.
"The contribution he has on the Indian cricket will never be forgotten and will inspire the younger generation for years to come."
KL Rahul, who currently dons the wicketkeeping gloves for the Indian team in the limited-overs formats, said that Dhoni inspired small-town boys him to achieve their dreams.
"As a small town boy, I aspired to play for the country and at a lot of stages, when you're younger, you feel like it's an impossible dream. But then, somebody like MS Dhoni comes in, and the things he did at the international stage gave me and the boys like me so much hope. We all felt like even we could go on and achieve our dreams, doesn't matter where we come from," said Rahul.
Ishant Sharma, India's Test bowler and a mainstay of the side for many years, thanked Dhoni for backing him during his bad times. "Mahi bhai, thank you very much for the way you've supported me. In my tough times, you have always backed me. I don't see you as the captain, I see you as a big brother because you've always treated me the same way." said Ishant.
Indian leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who was the receiving end of various instructions from Dhoni which often turned out to be rewarding, said that he will miss his advices now.
"The one thing which remains special about Mahi bhai is that he always used to help teammates on or off the ground. Especially me and Kuldeep, ever since my debut. I'm really going to miss Mahi bhai's instructions from behind the stumps," said the leg-spinner.
MS Dhoni will now be seen in cricket action during the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League, which begins on September 19.
