Ranji players, past and present, want M.S. Dhoni to start his second innings as a “monitor” for cricket in Jharkhand.

Some welcomed Mahi’s decision to retire from international cricket, while others felt the former Team India skipper should have stuck on till after the World T-20.

“As players we always loved Dhoni to be with us every time. We need him. MS is very sound in taking decisions. His retirement is a great loss... He has changed the face of Indian cricket,” former Team India pacer Varun Aaron told The Telegraph Online from Bangalore.

Jharkhand Ranji skipper Saurabh Tiwary said over phone from Mumbai that Dhoni came up with regular tips to players during Ranji camps in Ranchi. “He (Dhoni) is one of the best persons I’ve met. We happened to meet more during the past two-and-a-half years. I learnt a lot from him,” he added.

Southpaw Saurabh recalled Dhoni’s captaincy in one Ranji one-day match versus Maharashtra in Calcutta. “Jharkhand was dismissed for 103 in 50 overs and we thought we will not be able to defend such a low total. But Dhoni instilled confidence in us and we went on to stop our opponents for 92. We need his regular tips even now,” he added.

(L-R) Varun Aaron, Avinash Kumar, Saurabh Tiwary, Satish Singh, Ishank Jaggi Sourced by the Telegraph

Ishank Jaggi, one of Jharkhand’s Ranji mainstays, said Dhoni’s retirement was a personal decision. “But for the Covid crisis, he would have played the World T20. I have learnt a lot from him during Ranji camps. He is a master is reading match situations,” he said.

Former Bihar Ranji captain Avinash Kumar has fond memories of Mahi, but regrets he hasn’t met Dhoni for nearly two decades now. “He has achieved everything in cricket. I would like him to administer the game in Jharkhand and someday also head BCCI and ICC. Dhoni’s Ranji debut (at Keenan Stadium in 2002) happened to be my last match. Dhoni scored 64 in that tie. I told him to convert scores into hundreds,” Kumar, now a senior officer at Tata Steel sports wing, recalled.

“I remember Mahi used to stay at my home in Dhanbad when he played the summer cricket tournament we organised in the memory of my father in 2000. My wife Amita used to ask Dhoni about his food preference. He loved omelettes,” Kumar recalled, adding that Dhoni and Ranchi’s Anshuman Raj were the most sought-after cricketers at that time with all teams wanting to hire them.

Former Ranji allrounder Satish Singh feels Mahi should operate as a “monitor” to take cricket in Jharkhand to new heights. “I think Dhoni should act as a monitor for cricket in the state. There can be no one better than him. I played alongside him in his Ranji debut. A cool man who was different from others. Always looked confident and committed,” he added.

Kajal Das, an ex-Bihar allrounder, opined that Dhoni should have retired after the World T20. “Dhoni was part of the team when I was the coach of the under-19 and Ranji sides. He loved Jamshedpur more than Ranchi. I remember when I asked him to open the innings in a Ranji match against Haryana (in Gurgaon) in the early 2000, Dhoni struck 98 before lunch in that match. Dhoni was different and seldom said no to workouts,” he said, and seconded the idea that Mahi could be a monitor or coach for Jharkhand.