India's MS Dhoni announces retirement from international cricket

Former India captain MS Dhoni has announced his retirement from international cricket.

Dhoni will continue as skipper of Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming IPL in UAE and is preparing with the team before they travel for the competition.

He posted a video on Instagram announcing his decision. "Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," he wrote as a message beside the video of him playing for India through the years."

The two-time World Cup-winner on Saturday finally announced what his legions of fans had been fearing and cricket commentators had been pondering for the past year. The 39-year-old's last outing in India colours was during the lost World Cup sem-ifinal against New Zealand in England last summer.

Dhoni will go down as one of the finest to have played the game for India, playing 350 ODIs, 90 Tests and 98 T20s. The last leg of his career was, however, marred by a drop in form, prompting several critics to question his resolve to continue.

He made 10,773 ODI runs, averaging more than 50 despite batting between No. 5 and 7 for a major chunk of his career. Dhoni also accumulated 4,876 Test runs.

So now Dhoni turns his full cncentration to the IPL in the UAE, as his defending champions Chennai Super Kings go hunting their fourth title.