Former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday announced his retirement from international cricket. The cricketer made the announcement in an Instagram post on Saturday. 

“Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929hrs consider me as retired,” Dhoni posted on his Instagram handle.

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Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired

A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781) on

Dhoni had not played since India was knocked out in the semifinal of the ODI World Cup last year in July. The Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman’s return was a highly anticipated sub-plot of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts on September 19.

Dhoni, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, had trained during the team’s two-week camp. The former Team India captain’s presence had attracted a few thousand fans.

Also read: Suresh Raina ‘follows’ Dhoni, takes retirement from international cricket

The reticent man from Ranchi will go down as one of the finest to have played the game for India, turning up for the country in a whopping 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20 Internationals.

The last leg of his career was, however, marred by a drop in form, prompting several critics to question his resolve to continue.

Also read: MS Dhoni: From being runout on ODI debut to becoming India’s most successful captain

But he nevertheless signs off as an ODI legend with 10,773 runs, averaging more than 50 despite batting between No.5 and 7 for a major chunk of his career.

In the Test format, Dhoni accumulated 4876 runs at an average of 38.09 and led India to more wins (27) than anyone else before him.