Mahendra Singh Dhoni has announced his immediate retirement from Test match cricket after seeing his side hold Australia to a draw at the MCG on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old made no mention of his decision at his post-game press conference, instead having his retirement confirmed by the BCCI.
“Dhoni has chosen to retire from Test Cricket with immediate effect in order to concentrate on ODI and T20 formats,” the BCCI said in a statement on Tuesday night.
The BCCI lauded Dhoni for his service to Indian cricket as well as for the honour he brought to his country.
He will stay on as captain of the Indian one-day side, which competes in a tri-series against Australia and England in January leading in to the World Cup in 2015.
News of Dhoni’s retirement adds to a list of woes for the Indian side that has won just one of its last twelve Test matches. Their most recent victory came against England at Lord’s in July.
Virat Kohli will step in as captain for the final Test against Australia at the SCG beginning January 6. It will be Kohli’s second Test as captain after covering for the injured Dhoni in Adelaide.
Batting at number four, Kohli has enjoyed his time in Australia, scoring three hundreds in the series to date. A passionate and aggressive cricketer, he has been one of the few Indian batsmen to get on top of the Australian bowlers at any stage this summer.
Favourite to replace Dhoni behind the stumps is Wriddhiman Saha, who also featured in Adelaide as India’s backup gloveman.
A Bollywood film dedicated to Dhoni’s life and career is set for release in 2015.
Dhoni finished with 4876 Test match runs at an average of 38.09 to go with 256 catches and 38 stumpings. He finished not out on 24 in his 90th and final Test innings.
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