Calcutta, Jan. 4: Mahendra Singh Dhoni doesn't cease to surprise. On and off the park.
Twenty-five months after suddenly deciding to quit Test cricket (that, too, with a match remaining in Australia), India's most successful captain has chosen to step down from the top position both in ODIs and in T20Is.
Those who have made Dhoni their favourite punching bag would be quick to argue that the move had everything to do with Test captain Virat Kohli's phenomenal growth as leader.
Perhaps, that did figure in one corner of Dhoni's sharp mind.
It's interesting that Dhoni made his decision known to chief selector M.S.K. Prasad and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) CEO Rahul Johri just two days before the selection committee meets in Mumbai to pick the squad for the ODIs and T20Is against England.
Dhoni is, of course, available as a player. Which is very good news, for the 35-year-old brings much to the table.
According to Prasad, who spoke to The Telegraph at around 11pm, "MS will undoubtedly be selected".
The BCCI is headless after Monday's Supreme Court order, which is why Dhoni probably informed Johri and not even joint-secretary Amitabh Choudhary, who is also the president of his home state Jharkhand's cricket body.
That apart, according to the apex court's order, Choudhary is supposed to "perform the duties of the secretary".
However, neither the BCCI's media release on Dhoni nor the announcement regarding the selection committee meeting carried Choudhary's name. The Dhoni-specific release had Johri's quotes, with the announcement carrying his signature.
Odd, but that's another story.
Equally intriguingly, at the time of writing, the BCCI's website did not have the name of a single office-bearer.
The BCCI is headless as both president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke were removed by the Supreme Court.
Apparently, Dhoni (who was in Nagpur for the Ranji Trophy semi-final featuring Gujarat and Jharkhand) did speak to Choudhary in the early part of the evening, but gave no inkling of what was on his mind.
But Dhoni did have the courtesy to keep Prasad, a former India 'keeper himself, in the loop.
"MS and I had a lengthy chat in the afternoon, but the captaincy issue never came up....
"After the semi-final, however, MS told me that he wished to step down as the ODI and T20I captain and that he'd be intimating the BCCI....
"I didn't persuade MS to have a rethink, because he never says or does things lightly and without giving proper thought....
"Obviously, MS had decided it was time to hand the reins over to somebody else. He wouldn't have taken this decision lightly, but after an analysis....
"Clarity of thought marked MS's captaincy and that's to be seen in the way he talks on issues as well....
"We, in the BCCI, have to respect MS's decision and move on. Assuming Virat is given the captaincy in all formats, he'll need somebody to take a bit of his workload off....
"MS would be the best man to share Virat's workload and, given the equation they share, MS wouldn't have a problem in helping Virat....
"Look, even today, MS's passion, commitment and integrity is unmatched. It's something to be admired. MS will undoubtedly be selected," Prasad said, while speaking exclusively to this newspaper.
Actually, Dhoni may have done himself a favour by stepping down, for he can now devote his energies towards 'keeping and batting.
In fact, the 2019 World Cup is no longer that far away, so it's possible that Dhoni is looking to signing off at that showpiece tournament, in England.
The one and only Sachin Tendulkar, meanwhile, sent the following text to this reporter: "Congratulations to MSD on a wonderful career as captain, leading India to successes in both the T20 and ODI World Cups.... Have seen him emerge from an aggressive player to a steady and decisive captain....
"It's a day to celebrate MSD's successful captaincy and respect his decision.... Wish the very best as he continues entertaining us on the field with his exploits."
Besides the inaugural World T20, in 2007, Dhoni lifted the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. That's not all: In Test cricket, he took us to No. 1 for the first time, in 2009.
A legend, surely, as captain.
