MS Dhoni shocked the entire cricket universe by announcing his retirement from international cricket on 15th August. To make things worse for the hearts of the cricket fans, even Suresh Raina quit international cricket after half an hour. Dhoni and Raina had achieved manu things together in their careers.
They won the IPL, Champions League T20, ICC World Cup, and ICC Champions Trophy together for India and Chennai Super Kings. It is noteworthy that Raina made his debut after Dhoni, but still retired at the same time. However, there are four current Indian players who played their first ODI match before Dhoni and are still to call retirement.
4.Parthiv Patel
The Gujarat-based wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel made his debut at a very young age. The left-handed batsman played his first ODI match against New Zealand in 2003. Twelve months later, MS Dhoni earned his first opportunity to play international cricket.
Although Parthiv started his career before Dhoni, he has only played 38 ODIs for India so far. He has aggregated 736 runs at an average of 23.74. The southpaw will look to make a comeback as Dhoni is no longer active.
3.Dinesh Karthik
Another wicket-keeper batsman who made his ODI debut before MS Dhoni and is still playing is Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Dinesh Karthik. The right-handed batsman from Tamil Nadu made his ODI debut just a few days before Dhoni.
Karthik was a part of the 2019 ICC World Cup team. He had won the 2007 T20 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy. Since he is a great limited overs player, Karthik could still make his return to the Indian side.
2.Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra, the veteran leg-spinner from Delhi, always performed well in the limited opportunities that he received in his ODI career. He made his ODI debut back in 2003 against South Africa.
Mishra has played only 36 ODI games for the country, picking up 64 wickets at a fantastic economy rate of 4.72. Unfortunately, the team management did not give him proper opportunities. He is still active and a good IPL 2020 can help him earn a place in the Indian team.
1.Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh was the best off-spinner of his time. He won the ICC T20 World Cup and ICC World Cup with the Indian team in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
However, after his bowling became a bit predictable, Harbhajan conceded many runs in his bowling spells. He lost his place from the team, but he still has not retired officially yet. The Punjabi off-spin bowler had recently stated that a brilliant outing in IPL 2020 can help him play the T20 World Cup next year. It will be intriguing to see if any of these players can earn their place back in the Indian team soon or like Dhoni, they will quit international cricket off the ground.
