I was heartbroken, honoured to have played with MS Dhoni: KL Rahul

MS Dhoni announced his retirement last week on Saturday, but the fans and the cricketers are still praising him for his heroics, skills and class. Fellow teammates have been actively sharing their best moments and experiences to pay tribute to one of the legends in the game. Wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul has opened up now and has expressed that wished to give captain cool, a big send-off.

The 39-year-old brought end to his sparkling career of close to 16 years on India’s 74th Independence Day and the news spread like a wildfire. Congratulatory messages and tributes started flowing in from all corners of the world. While some wished for a farewell match for the Ranchi hero, others wanted MS Dhoni to feature in 2021 T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, KL Rahul admitted that he was heartbroken after knowing about the veteran cricketer’s retirement. He also lauded Dhoni for always guiding players like him and allowed them to express themselves.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the 28-year-old said, “It was quite shocking. I was honestly heartbroken. I’m sure all of us in the team or whoever has played under him and with him would have wanted to give him a big send-off and wanted him to play one more time so we could have had that opportunity to do something special for him. It is what it is.”

“He has been someone who has guided us all really, really well. And who has never expected us to change who we are? He has let us go out there and express ourselves and make our mistakes and learn from them. He has just let us be.”

MS Dhoni was my role model, says KL Rahul

Feeling immensely honoured to have played under the guidance of MS Dhoni, KL Rahul feels that words fall short in order to describe the former’s greatness. He also stated that even if he wanted to pen down his thoughts about the CSK skipper, he simply could not as the latter is simply too good and too influential. The young batsman who is still under shock of Dhoni’s retirement says the man was capable of changing lives.

“Words fall short, man. Even the other day when I was trying [to write on Dhoni retiring] on Instagram or Twitter… I mean, what do you say about somebody like that? You don’t have enough to say about how much he has done and how many lives he has changed and for how many people he is an inspiration – not just on the field but off the field [as well] with the things he has achieved. It is phenomenal.”

“It has always been MS Dhoni. I’m grateful that I’ve had the honour of playing under him and with him. ” added Rahul.