The big news: Dhoni’s era of captaincy ends

India’s one-day and Twenty20 captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, stepped down as skipper on Wednesday. Dhoni led India in 199 ODIs and 72 T20Is, and is the country’s most successful captain in the shorter formats of the game. However, he will be available for selection for the series against England.

The Indian Express reported that Dhoni had told the chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad that he was ready to step down as India’s captain in ODIs and T20Is. Prasad told the daily that he and Dhoni had chatted earlier in the day, too. However, the selectors also felt that it was the right time to hand over the reins to Virat Kohli, especially with India set to play only 55 ODIs before the next World Cup in 2019, and the Champions Trophy just five months away.

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