Have We Seen The Last of MS Dhoni in T20 Internationals?

The second T20I between India and Australia at Bengaluru on Wednesday, 27 February, came with a few notable numbers – all not-too-pleasing from an Indian perspective.

Glenn Maxwell’s marvellous century, an unbeaten 113 off just 55 balls, muscled Australia to a 7-wicket win, which saw the visitors take the two-match series 2-0.

It was India’s first defeat in a T20I series at home since October 2015. It was also Australia’s first series win over India in the format since 2008.

It was also – in all likelihood – MS Dhoni’s final appearance in a T20 international.

The former captain, the man who inspired the T20 revolution in India in 2007, is expected to call time on a glorious career after the ICC World Cup 2019 in England – and with India not scheduled to play any more T20Is until then, Dhoni may have featured in his last game in the shortest format.

Individually, it was quite the vintage finish to the 37-year-old’s T20I stint; Dhoni, coming in with India at 74/3 in 11 overs, hit a 23-ball 40 – laced with three fours and three sixes – and shared a 100-run stand in just 8.2 overs with captain Virat Kohli which propelled India to a sizeable 190/4, only for Maxwell’s heroics to take the game away from the hosts.

But if it indeed were to be his last innings in the format, Dhoni signed off with a glimpse of the big-hitter India (and world cricket) had fallen for all those years ago.

The Start: World Champions, Against Expectations

Who can forget the first real chapter of Dhoni’s – or indeed Indian cricket’s – T20 journey?

India, dismissive of the format, and having played only T20I prior to the tournament, were crowned champions of the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007.

It was the fortnight which gave rise to the phenomenon that was ‘Captain Cool’.

Dhoni, marshalling a new-look side after being handed captaincy for the first time, saw his young India defy all odds, expectations and logic to lord the opening act of cricket’s revolutionary format.

In the opinion of many a pundit in the game, the further revolution that was the Indian Premier League would not have come about (at least not as early) had it not been for the title clinched by Dhoni’s band of dreamers.

‘Dasher’ Dhoni? Not So Much

For a player who earned his first stripes as a maverick hitter of the cricket ball, and whose rise in the international game was built upon sixes which flew longer than his then-mane, Dhoni’s striking powers in T20 internationals were uderwhelming.

Dhoni is likely to finish his T20I career with a strike rate of 126.13 – middling by any standard in the crash-and-bang format, more so for someone batting primarily as a finisher. It compares rather unfavourably with his IPL riches, where he has scored his 4000+ runs at a rate above 138.

MS Dhoni in T20Is: 1617 runs, average 37.60, strike rate 126.13, two 50s.

MS Dhoni in IPL: 4016 runs, average 40.16, strike rate 138.19, 50+ scores 20.

That strike rate, in fact, has only swelled in the last two years – after he relinquished captaincy. Both of Dhoni’s half-centuries in the format, too, came after Kohli took over the reins of the Indian team across formats.

Dhoni in T20Is, as captain: 1112 runs, strike rate 122.60, zero 50s.

Dhoni in T20Is, not as captain: 505 runs, strike rate 134.66, two 50s.

Records, Milestones & Trivia

• Dhoni is the third-most capped player in T20Is, with 98 matches (behind Shoaib Malik’s 111 and Shahid Afridi’s 99).
• No player has led a country in more T20Is than Dhoni’s 72; Dhoni is one of only two players to have captained their team in more than 50 T20Is.
• Dhoni’s record as T20I captain: 72 matches, 41 wins, win rate 59.28%.
• Dhoni has the most dismissals for any ‘keeper in the format – his 91 dismissals well clear of second-best Kamran Akmal (61).
• Dhoni also holds the record for most catches in a single T20I innings: five, against England at Bristol in 2018.
• Dhoni’s 1617 runs are the second-highest for any wicketkeeper in T20Is (behind Mohammad Shahzad’s 1936).
• Dhoni added 523 runs at an average of 87.16 with Kohli – easily the best average for any pair with more than 300 runs together in T20Is (next-best: Babar Azam/Hussain Talat, 74.80).