Dhoni inspired everyone around him to be a better human being, says Mandhana

Mandhana also highlighted the knock of Dhoni in the finals of the 2011 World Cup. The wicket-keeper batsman who was leading the Men in Blue then did not have a good tournament till the finals.

New Delhi: India's limited-overs vice-captain Smriti Mandhana on Monday paid a rich tribute to former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, saying that the veteran wicket-keeper batsman inspired everyone around him to be a better cricketer and human being.

Her remark came as MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket, bringing an end to a 16-year-long career.

"I still remember the way Mahi sir walked out to bat in the 2011 World Cup final, the confidence on his face was something which I got inspired by, I am sure he has inspired everyone around him to be a better cricketer and most importantly a better human being," Mandhana said in a video posted by Twitter handle of BCCI Women.

Mandhana also highlighted the knock of Dhoni in the finals of the 2011 World Cup. The wicket-keeper batsman who was leading the Men in Blue then did not have a good tournament till the finals.

In the finals against Sri Lanka, he promoted himself to number one and went on to play a match-winning knock to guide India to its second 50-over World Cup title.

MS Dhoni

On Saturday, Dhoni had announced his retirement on Instagram. The wicket-keeper-batsman Dhoni shared a video and captioned the post, "Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired."

The video had the iconic song 'Mai Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hu' from Amitabh Bachchan's 'Kabhie Kabhie' playing in the background and in it, Dhoni shared his incredible journey in the Indian side including his run out in the last game against New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 semifinal.

He is among the most successful captains in world cricket. It was under his leadership that India lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 after having led India to triumph in the ICC World T20 in its maiden edition of the tournament held in 2007 in South Africa.

With India winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 in England, Dhoni became the first and is still the only captain to date to have won all three ICC Trophies.

Unarguably the quickest man behind the wicket, Dhoni has 195 international stumpings, the most by any wicket-keeper. Dhoni played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka.

MS Dhoni

Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field.

In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians.

However, the tournament will now be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. He will continue to captain CSK in the IPL 2020.