One plausible reason why #DhoniRetires might have trended. The massive lockdown in India has forced a nation of 1.3 billion people to stay indoors; so they tune into all forms of media to keep themselves busy. The biggest pastime in India for sports fans is to watch cricket. However, there has been no cricket action with the postponement of the 2020 IPL.
Mischief Mongers Trend #DhoniRetires On Twitter
Mischief mongers decided to make things interesting on social media by deciding to retire MS Dhoni. A tweet circulated last week with the hashtag #DhoniRetires; needless to say, Indian cricket fans started sharing the tweet furiously and in a short time #DhoniRetires started trending. However, this was nothing but fake news as the man himself continues to be quiet and stay out of the limelight.
The BCCI brass could not answer the Indian public on MS Dhoni’s future plans earlier this year and passed it off by saying they would take a call on his selection for the 2020 World Cup in October based on his performance in the 2020 IPL. Since the IPL had to be postponed, the common consensus with Indian cricket fans is that this could be the end of MS Dhoni.
So when #DhoniRetires started trending, the Indian public bought into the tweet as they were expecting MS Dhoni to retire as it looks like the 2020 World Cup in Australia is also unlikely to take place.
Sakshi Lashes Out
MS Dhoni did not respond to the #DhoniRetires hashtag but his wife Sakshi Dhoni decided to get involved and defend her husband. This is not the first time that Mrs. Dhoni has jumped on social media to defend her husband and it will most likely not be the last time. She took to twitter to clarify that it was a lie and minced no words.
Sakshi Dhoni tweeted ‘Its only rumours! I understand lockdown has made people mentally unstable!’ #DhoniRetires…Get a life!
There were a number of Indian cricket fans who immediately supported Sakshi Dhoni by saying that Mrs. Dhoni takes a leaf out of Dhoni’s book and finished off in style by silencing the mischief mongers. However, she would go on to delete the tweet after making her point as thousands of tweets came out in support for MS Dhoni to continue playing for India.
The fact that #DhoniRetires is once again in the headlines bodes well for MS Dhoni as it caused another debated in the sporting world and showed that MS Dhoni continues to have a strong fan base who want him back in the Indian team.
Harbhajan Adds To #DhoniRetires Talk
Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who now plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) which MS Dhoni captains, told media that he believes MS Dhoni has played his last match for India and will not wear the blue jersey again. Harbhajan said that he believed MS Dhoni finished his career after playing the 2019 ICC World Cup.
The offie might be right; Dhoni has not played for India after the 2019 ICC World Cup. But has yet to officially retire from international cricket. Harbhajan did not reveal if his CSK skipper had shared anything personally with him about his retirement but it is highly unlikely as the two are not very close off the cricket field.
If anyone should know about MS Dhoni’s cricket plans it would be his wife Sakshi. Based on her Twitter protest, one would think that MS Dhoni is not yet done with his international career. Indian cricket fans continue to wait to know whether they have seen the last of MS Dhoni in blue!
