Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq also voiced the sentiments of millions of fans as he demanded a farewell game for the 39-year-old.
Saqlain Mushtaq said that the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) did not treat ex-India captain MS Dhoni "the right way" as he retired without playing a farewell game for the country. Claiming that every cricketer dreams of leaving on a high, Saqlain said that fans of MS Dhoni would have wanted to see him take the field in the India jersey one last time. MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 through an Instagram post. His last game for India was the World Cup semi-final defeat to New Zealand in 2019.
"I think everyone who loves MS Dhoni will have one complaint. If he wore India's kit, with gloves on and holding the bat, and taken the gloves off, and his cap off with respect one last time, then it would have been great," Saqlain Mushtaq said on his YouTube channel.
"I usually don't say anything negative on my show, and if I feel like it, I try and stop myself, but my heart says that I should say this," he said.
"It is BCCI's loss that they did not treat such a big player the right way," he said.
"This is not how he should have retired. I can say with surety that crores of his fans and cricket lovers would also agree that BCCI did not treat him right," the former spinner claimed.
Dhoni, who did not play any competitive cricket match since India’s semi-final defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 at Manchester in England, will return to action as the leader of Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2020. The 13th edition of IPL will begin on September 19 in the UAE.
Saqlain said Dhoni must have had a dream of retiring in a better way.
“Glad that he will play in IPL. But his international retirement should have been different. Every cricketer has some dreams, I had that too but because of my injury that didn’t materialize but I believe every cricketer wants to exit the game on a high as he had entered it. I’m sure Dhoni must have had this dream,” Saqlain, who is widely hailed as the inventor of the ‘doosra’ delivery, said.
The former Pakistan spinner hailed Dhoni as a real hero. “MS Dhoni you are a gem of a person and real hero, proud of you,” he signed off.