Sports

MS Dhoni retirement leaves a void in world cricket

Published

6 years ago

2020/08/17

The uncertainties leading up to the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be forgotten soon enough, and what will remain are the certainties and the pride of performance over the years.

Should he have retired earlier? Or at least should he have cleared the air earlier?

It does not matter. Dhoni was under no compulsion to make it easier for everybody else, especially those whose job it is to tie up careers neatly and move on to the next big thing.

It is likely that Dhoni might continue to play in the IPL. It is a tournament he enjoys, playing for a team he loves whose fans return the love many times over.

A man who has played 90 Tests, 350 one-dayers and 98 T20s will, naturally, be missed.

This in addition to being the country’s most successful captain, taking India to the No 1 ranking and leading them to a World Cup win after 28 years (2011), the World T20 (2007) which set up the IPL revolution and the Champions Trophy (2013).

In white ball cricket he is one of the all-time greats, his 84 undefeated innings pushing his average above 50 in one-day internationals. Only Ricky Ponting has led his team, Australia, to more wins. Dhoni has led in and won more matches than any other captain in T20 internationals.

He led India in the most number of Tests, 60, and was only recently overtaken by Virat Kohli as the most successful.

Dhoni’s reign had a profound impact on Indian cricket, and not just in terms of statistics.

He rose from what was then a backwater of Indian cricket – the eastern city of Ranchi – and continued the work begun by a predecessor, Sourav Ganguly, who turned to the non-traditional cricketing centres and discovered players of international standard.

Dhoni’s elevation as captain continued a process begun with the aristocrats – the maharajahs and nawabs – who led in the early years, the middle-class players (often bankers) who followed and then the small-town talent who spread the game; this in some ways reflecting the evolution of Indian society itself.

He was eight years old when Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut, and within months of his taking over Tendulkar was saying, “I am delighted with the way Dhoni has conducted himself. He is a balanced guy with a sharp brain.”

Dhoni was easily accepted by the seniors in the side, a tribute both to his potential and fairness.

He learnt from his predecessors. From Rahul Dravid under whom he played 19 Tests and Anil Kumble under whom he played 10. These two men from the southern state of Karnataka brought to the job a rare intelligence, tactical nous and man management skills. “I want a team,” Dhoni once said, “that can stand before an advancing truck.” And he worked at building just such a team.

As a player, the amazing thing about Dhoni was what might look inadequate in another player, a gimmick even, worked well for him.

Ex-India keeper Syed Kirmani said initially he lacked “copybook basics” as a wicketkeeper and criticised his habit of standing on his heels to receive the ball rather than on his toes. The corkscrew on-drive or “helicopter” shot was uniquely Dhoni’s. It was seldom imitated because it was inimitable.

Retirement is a difficult thing, both for the player and his team.

In the first Test following Sunil Gavaskar’s retirement, India were bowled out for 75 by the West Indies and went on to lose by five wickets. It was another 19 Tests before India had a century opening partnership. That’s one side of the coin.

Here’s the other: after Tendulkar was caught at slip in his final Test innings, the new batsman Virat Kohli struck the next ball for four.

The symbolism was inescapable. The king is dead, long live the king.

Dhoni, as he prepares to leave the international scene, can take comfort in the fact that his successors are already in place.

He leaves Indian cricket in a good place – back as the best team in the world with a captain who is as hot (if one might be pardoned that expression) as he himself was cool, but just as successful; and new wicketkeepers ready to take over.

He will be missed for his remarkable self-control, his ability to change the tempo of a match either through sustained hitting or dour defence, and his manner of encouraging the bowlers, especially the spinners, from behind the wicket.

In the latter half of his career, he appeared at times to have eyes in the back of his head with his ability to run out batsman behind him without looking at the stumps.

He also patented a way of avoiding the recoil with his practised manner of either taking the edge from the bat or the throw from the field without wasting time having to take his hands back with the ball. It is a significant contribution to the art of wicketkeeping. Anything that saves time.

In 15 years, Dhoni played 538 internationals, scored over 17,000 runs, averaged 45 with a strike rate of nearly 80, held 634 catches and effected 195 stumpings.

Only five players in the history of the game have played more internationals; only one of them was a wicketkeeper, and none of them led in as many matches as Dhoni did.

His will be tough boots to fill. But Dhoni’s legacy goes beyond figures and reflects the arc of India’s societal transformation.

It will include the self-confidence he brought to large hitherto ignored sections of the population, and emphasise the old-fashioned dignity and respect he brought to the game and its players.

(BBC)

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Sports

LPL resumes in Dambulla

Published

4 hours ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

International stars continue to enhance the appeal of the Lanka Premier League, with former Pakistan captain and premier fast bowler Shaheen Afridi, representing Kandy Royals, among the tournament’s biggest attractions.

After a weekend of entertaining cricket in Colombo, the Lanka Premier League movesd to Dambulla, where another exciting phase of the tournament awaits. The North Central town will host nine matches, including double-headers over the weekend. The competition will then shift to Kandy before returning to Colombo for the business end, with R. Premadasa Stadium staging the playoffs and the final.

There were no clear frontrunners during the SSC leg of the competition, although Galle Gallants strengthened their position by winning both their matches. They remain the only unbeaten side after the opening round. At the other end of the table, Kandy Royals have work to do after losing both their games. Dambulla Sixers, Colombo Kaps and Jaffna Kings have each won one match and lost one.

Among the local players, Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Janith Liyanage have been the standout performers with the bat. South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks and Australians Sam Harper and Ben McDermott have also produced impressive knocks. With the ball, Eshan Malinga, Akif Javed and Binura Fernando have led the way with a string of eye-catching performances.

The resurgence of Charith Asalanka augurs well for Sri Lankan cricket. The left-hander, who captained the national T20 side before being removed just ahead of the World Cup and subsequently lost his place in the team, has reminded everyone of the talent that made him one of the country’s brightest prospects.

More broadly, the tournament continues to serve Sri Lankan cricket well. While it provides players with a lucrative earning opportunity, it also prepares them for the demands of international cricket and offers selectors an ideal platform to assess emerging talent. Equally important, it gives out-of-form players the opportunity to rebuild confidence and revive their careers.

Sharing a dressing room with established international stars such as Shaheen Afridi, James Neesham, Gulbadin Naib, Rassie van der Dussen, Mohammad Nawaz, David Wiese and Moeen Ali can only accelerate the development of the younger local players.

The LPL was launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and although the tournament has experienced interruptions, largely due to franchise ownership changes, it has continued to make steady progress, attracting several high-profile players and coaches. There are ambitious plans to expand the competition to six teams once greater continuity and stability are assured. The tournament is overseen by SSC stalwart Samantha Dodanwala.

Sports

Yupun cites lack of professionalism in athletics for premature retirement

Published

4 hours ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Yupun Abeykoon

History-making sprinter Yupun Abeykoon announced his retirement from competitive athletics at a hastily arranged press briefing on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career in which his personal-best performance transcended medals, becoming a landmark achievement that inspired not only Sri Lanka but the entire region.

‎Yupun Abeykoon’s greatest achievement was becoming the first Sri Lankan and the first South Asian to run sub ten seconds in track and field’s marquee discipline.

‎The 31-year-old said that he leaves the sport having fulfilled his dream while citing the absence of a proper system to reward athletes for winning medals as one of the key reasons behind his decision to retire from competitive athletics.

‎At the time of his retirement his 9.96 feat remains the fifth fastest performance in history in the entire Asian region and he is one of only 11 in the entire Asian region to have accomplished the sub ten seconds mark in 100 metres.

‎Ironically, the announcement of his retirement comes just couple of days ahead of the start of the Commonwealth Games.

‎The sprinter’s greatest championship achievement came at the last edition of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he won the bronze medal in the men’s 100 metres, ending Sri Lanka’s long wait for a sprint medal at a major multi-sport event. He also represented Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Olympic Games, becoming the country’s lone male track athlete and the first South Asian male sprinter to compete in the Olympic 100m in many year.

‎Abeykoon leaves an indelible mark as the first South Asian athlete to break the 10-second barrier in the men’s 100 metres. On 3 July 2022, he stunned the athletics world by clocking 9.96 seconds at the Résisprint International meet in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, rewriting history for Sri Lanka and the entire South Asian region. He also established national records in the 100m (9.96s), 200m (20.37s) and indoor 60m, while setting the Asian 150m record of 15.16 seconds.

‎Having trained in Italy under coach Claudio Licciardello, Abeykoon transformed himself into one of Asia’s fastest men and became a regular competitor on the European circuit, including Diamond League meetings. His success inspired Sri Lankan sprinters and demonstrated that athletes from the region could compete with the world’s elite.

‎During the press conferance held online, Abeykoon thanked his parformer schools, the SLEME the regiment in Sri Lanka Army he represented, Palitha Fernando, the former president of Sri Lanka Athletics and Sri Lanka Cricket among others, his coaching team in Italy and the millions of Sri Lankans who supported him throughout his journey.

‎While expressing pride in his accomplishments, he also indicated that his retirement was not an easy decision and suggested that broader issues, specially lack of professionalism within Sri Lankan athletics had contributed to his choice.

‎Although his competitive career has come to an end, Yupun Abeykoon’s legacy is secure. As the fastest man Sri Lanka has ever produced and the first South Asian to run under 10 seconds, he redefined the limits of sprinting in the region and inspired countless young athletes to dream beyond perceived barriers. His achievements will remain a benchmark in Sri Lankan athletics for generations to come.

by Reemus Fernando

Sports

Abans Group defeat Commercial Bank by three wickets

Published

4 hours ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

HONOUR –MCA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2026

Abans Group defeated Commercial Bank by three wickets and registered their first win in the Honour – MCA Champions League 2026 cricket tournament played at the MCA ground on Sunday.

Electing to bat first, Commercial Bank were restricted to 135 by the Abans group bowlers led by Kaveesha Dulanjana [3-28] and Mihiranga Fernando with figures of [7-2-08-1] after which in the chase, Tharusha Fernando was unbeaten on 36 while Dilshan de Zoysa, Akeel Inham and Kavishka Gihan had 20 plus scores against their names to reach the win need with three wickets in hand in the 32nd over.

SCORES:

Commercial Bank

135/10 in 45.2 overs [Lasith Nanayakkara 21; Kaveesha Dulanjana 3-28, Mihiranga Fernando 1-08]

Abans Group

137/7 in 31.4 overs [Tharusha Fernando 36*; Dushean Gamage 3-25, Pasindu Denipitiya 3-40]