Shoaib Akhtar appeals BCCI to hold farewell match for MS Dhoni

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar on heaped praise on MS Dhoni and urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to give him a farewell match.

MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect. He posted a message on his Instagram account, thanking everybody for their love and support throughout his career.

"Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," Dhoni posted along with a 4-minute video montage which depicted his nternational journey from breaking into the national side, scripting records, playing memorable knocks, winning trophies and getting run out in his last match for India..

Not satisfied with how Dhoni bid adieu, Akhtar appealed to the Indian cricket board to organise "at least one final match" for the legendary captain, who changed the face of Indian cricket.

Akhtar also said that Dhoni might have continued till the T20 World Cup this year but the coronavirus pandemic forced the tournament to be postponed to 2022, which might have played a big part in the wicketkeeper-batsman opting to step aside.

"I was confident that MS Dhoni will get a good farewell but that is not what he wants. Playing for India was his biggest dream which he fulfilled.

"It's always a great time to leave when you want to, people shouldn't push you towards



retirement. India loves and respects its cricket stars, I know because I have learned that from experience.

"There might be scenario that Dhoni gets a farewell match. BCCI might ask him to play one final time to give him a send-off whenever it is possible in the current scenario because such a big player like Dhoni doesn't deserve to go out with a small message on social media. I hope and India sends him off with a lot of respect and in times to come they use his experience in some way or the other.

"Whoever serves their country for 15-16 will have tons of knowledge and I hope the BCCI utilises that," Shoaib Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.

MS Dhoni was one of his India's most successful captains before standing down as skipper of the limited-over teams in 2017. Having made his international debut in 2004, Dhoni went on to captain India in 332 out of his 538 international appearances.

Dhoni, who turned 39 last month, remains the only captain to win all 3 ICC trophies - 200 World T20, 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.

He ended his ODI career having played 350 matches, scoring 10,773 runs and effecting 444 dismissals. Dhoni holds the record for most dismissals in T20 internationals with 91 in 98 matches. Overall, Dhoni had amassed over 17,000 international runs across formats, including 16 centuries, and more than 800 victims as wicketkeeper.