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MS Dhoni's Quiet Farewell; An Instagram Post That Left The Fans Wandering On Independence Day

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

MS Dhoni [Source: AFP Photos]MS Dhoni [Source: AFP Photos]

15th August, 2025 - India celebrates its 79th Independence Day. The Nation has grown from being an underdeveloped state to a potential superpower that is revered by the world.

Let us keep the date the same, but turn the clock back five years. India was busy celebrating its 74th year of freedom from British rule. But a specific Instagram post from a certain someone made 1.4 billion people at least pause for a moment. For a million fans, especially the ones who idolised him, it was a heart-wrenching moment.

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

MS Dhoni's retirement post [Source: @mahi7781/Instagram.com]MS Dhoni's retirement post [Source: @mahi7781/Instagram.com]

Timelines froze, notifications pinged, and that August evening turned into a lump in the throat for many.

MS Dhoni bid adieu to international cricket.

Fans Were Expecting His Return

This came one year after that run-out in the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup. Some wondered… should he have dived? Could he have dived? But that is not the point anymore.

Fans expected his return. And what did MS do? Chase a farewell, a platform to glorify himself? No, a simple post with a song - "Main pal do pal ka shayar hu". That tells you the nature of the man. He believed that he was just another small chapter of Indian cricket and there are many more glorious ones to come, so no glory-chasing, just a quiet goodbye.

MS Dhoni [Source: AFP Media]MS Dhoni [Source: AFP Media]

A Leader In Every Sense

Well, there is a popular saying in cricket that often defines captains in the sport - 'Leading from the front'. But MS did it differently; it changed the game while staying in the background.

A flamboyant, aggressive, potentially game-changing batter dropped down the batting order and sacrificed dozens of records for the sake of the team. Game reading skills, ability to predict the batter's next move and guiding his bowlers from behind the stumps - MS made captaincy look like an art. 

MSD fans have often referred to him as 'the one who changed the game from behind the stumps'. Well, with all that he brought in as a skipper, along with his lightning-fast glove work, he was someone who changed the game while staying behind the screens.

The Poet Of All Time

This is not about whether Dhoni was the best captain, the best wicketkeeper, or the best finisher in the game of cricket. This is about paying tribute to a legend of the game. This is about recognising the contributions of MS to Indian cricket. 

Yes, he might not have scored 100 centuries, nor double hundreds in ODI cricket. He might not have celebrated wildly on the field to show his love and passion for the game. But go back in history, check the attitude with which he played the game, the countless times Indian fans pinned their hopes on him.

The times when he took the blame on himself for the defeats, the countless times when he stood in the background as the team celebrated with the trophy. Cricket is a game where the captain probably plays a more important role than any other player. India might have had and will have many better captains who will win much more than him. But Dhoni didn’t just play cricket. He became a quiet chapter in India’s story — one we’ll keep turning back to, long after the cheers have faded.