Applauding Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his cricketing laurels through a letter, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the "correct" way to assess the impact of "one of the most successful captains" is as a "phenomenon".
In a tweet today, MS Dhoni shared the letter of appreciation sent in by the Prime Minister with a caption which read, "An Artist, Soldier, and Sportsperson what they crave for is appreciation, that their hard work and sacrifice is getting noticed and appreciated by everyone. thanks, PM @narendramodi for your appreciation and good wishes."
In the letter, PM Modi recognised Dhoni's achievements and said, "You have been one of the most successful captains, instrumental in taking India to the top of the world charts. Your name will go down in history as being one of the world's batting greats among the greatest cricketing captains and certainly one of the best wicketkeepers the game has seen."
Reminiscing the 2011 World Cup final, in particular, the Prime Minister said the memories from that match will be etched in the public memory for generations. However, he added the name 'MS Dhoni' would be remembered for so much more than career statistics.
"You dependability in tough situations and your style of finishing matches, particularly the 2011 World Cup final will forever be etched in the public memory for generations. But the name MS Dhoni will not be remembered merely for his career statistics or specific match-winning roles. Looking at you as just a sportsperson would be an injustice. The correct way to assess your impact is as a phenomenon," he added.
As the former skipper announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15 after a 16-year-long stint, tributes started pouring in from all over the world.
Dhoni is the first captain to have won all the three major ICC trophies -- ODI World Cup, World T20 Cup and Champions Trophy.
While his heroics in the limited-overs formats are well documented, it was also under his leadership that India became the number one Test side in 2009 and the team stayed at the top for over 600 days.
He has led India to victory in 21 home Test matches, the most by an Indian captain. Leaving behind a rich legacy that will be difficult to replicate, Dhoni holds the record for most international matches as captain (332).
Unarguably the quickest man behind the wicket, Dhoni has 195 international stumpings, the most by any wicket-keeper.
Dhoni played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka. Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field.
In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.
Then in 2017, he handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.
Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians.
However, the tournament will now be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. He will continue to captain CSK in the IPL 2020.
( With inputs from ANI )
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