Video | MS Dhoni hilariously silences retirement doubts by instantly giving ball to Sanjay Bangar

37-year old MS Dhoni turned back the clock with a brilliant performance in the recent 2-1 series win against Aaron Finch & Co. The veteran Indian wicket-keeper cum batsman recorded three back-to-back half-centuries en route to India’s emphatic win down under and was also adjudged as man of the series. 

Prior to his outing in Australia, there was some doubt surrounding Dhoni’s future in the limited-overs setup, especially with the emergence of the young and talented - Rishabh Pant. However, Dhoni silenced his critics with a convincing display in Australia which proved his importance in the national team with the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup looming on the horizon.

If his performances with the bat weren’t enough, Dhoni also added a humorous joke about his retirement post the win at the MCG on Friday. The CSK skipper took the match ball after his innings of 87* before he could hand it over to Indian batting coach - Sanjay Bangar. While handing Bangar the ball, Dhoni said 'Ball lelonahi to bolega retirement le rahehain' which is translated to "Take the ball or else they will say I am retiring.' 

Dhoni said this as media had hyped up his taking the ball ritual in England last year and whispered that he was planning to announce his retirement from cricket. Ravi Shastri had later cleared the air that it was a wrong notion by the media.

Watch the hilarious exchange between the two here.