That's The Way.. "Mahi Way!"

He stepped down and rose again!

Mahendra Singh Dhoni relinquished his captaincy on Wednesday, 5th January, ending the magnificent era of Indian cricket under him. It marks the end of a memorable journey of grit and leadership.

As the news headlines displayed "MS Dhoni steps down from captaincy", several hearts broke at the same time, including mine.

When Mahi's Twitter account began displaying "Member - Team India", from "Captain", many hearts sobbed, including mine.

Mahi had been the synonym for captaincy in the lives of Indian fans, especially for his Ranchi fans.

But as the saying goes, the true Genius is knowing when to stop. Our Mahi is one.

A true leader knows when it's the right time to pass the baton.

Captaincy was a title, MS conveyed emotions.

He has nurtured cricket.
He has supported his juniors.

While I riffled the new feed, I experienced a wave of emotions, people had for Mahi, respect, love and pride.

And then there were some who said, "Why such a hue and cry? There will be other captains too."

• Of course there will be other captains, there won't be another Mahi.
• There won't be a captain who steps down at the golden number of 199 ODI's in his name.
• There won't be a captain who retires when there are 90 test matches in his name.
• There won't be a captain who plays guardian first and player later because he is a man who has stepped down in the playing eleven batting lineup throughout his career.
• There won't be a captain who accepts challenges from the front and celebrates from the rear.

But he did. That's the "Mahi Way"!

He lead the Indian squad valiantly, and he left valiantly.

Captains may come
Captains may go
But MSD will be the synonym for best captaincy for ever.

Pardon me if I'm going overboard, but I adore Mahi.

I was a student of class five when Mahi took charge of the Indian cricket team. When an eleven year old, dancing in front of the television set, ecstatic and excited, calls up her father at work and says, "Papa, Dhoni made us win", something changes within her.

She becomes a jabra fan.

Winning a match isn't always a one man task, but I have been obsessed with Mahi ever since then.

Mahi taught me that watching cricket matches wasn't boring after all.

He made a prominent mark of the city Ranchi in the map of the world, and hence Ranchiites have a different level of respect and love for him. 

Being a Ranchiite, and sharing the same birthdate (7 July) with the legend, I have felt the same. 

There were days when the customer care representatives had difficulty in understanding the name Ranchi.

I'm extremely proud to mention that, today, if somebody has any trouble in the name, I just say, "Dhoni's city", and they understand.

Thank you Mahi!

Thank you for those miraculous moments in cricket.
From an aggressive player to a steady decisive captain, this day marks the end of a Much loved era.

"Dhoni koi Tendulkar hai?"
"Nahin paaji! Dhoni Dhoni hai.."

Nine years of shrewd captaincy.
An exemplary saga of composed leadership.

A warrior in a true sense, he served the country selflessly, and stepped down like a boss.

Cool, Humble, Sacrificing, Gentleman, A man with a Midas touch, Unpredictable, Best finisher, Motivator, Inspiration, Victorious Skipper, Exceptional Fielder,

The adjectives suitable for Mahi are more than the runs he has made in the field.
From assigning the last over of that remarkable match to Joginder Sharma, to stepping down silently, Mahi has never failed to surprise us. 

His fans can't stop wishing his decision could be "reviewed" too. But if Mahi has decided something, there must be a reason behind it.

In spite of accepting his decision with warmth, our hearts silently calls,

"Tussi ja rahe ho?
Tussi na Jao Mahi".

We have always respected his decision, and will continue to do so.
Whether he plays as a captain, or as a member in the playing eleven, fans would continue to watch him, love him and celebrate him.
Hoping to see the flamboyant style of his batting again, now that he is free from the shackles of captaincy.

After all, a leader is never off duty. 

His widely acclaimed helicopter shot, and his winning Knock on Kulsakera'a delivery in the finals of the world cup will always be remembered.

Apart from being one of the most successful skipper, is also the only skipper to have brought home both the ICC world cups ( T20 and ODI).

The prominent components of his winning saga-
T-20 world cup 2007
Asia cup 2010
Test no.1-2010
Cricket world cup 2010-11
Champions Trophy 2013
Asia T20 cup 2016.

"Now I call upon The winning captain MS Dhoni", is a sentence that will be terribly missed by his fans after every match. 

I just wish he will be the part of 2019 World Cup squad. India needs him.

Last but not the least, the chants Will never cease to exist.
The memories will be cherished forever.
The seven number Jersey will be enshrined in our hearts forever.

And Mahi finishes off in style yet again, giving us the goosebumps, the emotions and the feels again.

The world will love you Mahi for the victories you have blessed India with. 

The people of Ranchi will love you because you have given us an everlasting reason to celebrate - "You".

We love you Mahi!

You may have stepped down from captaincy, but you have risen in our hearts once again.

#Dhonism forever

P.S With no offense to anyone it's a fan girl post. :)