Retirement Special: Celebrating MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina friendship bond

New Delhi : Two great cricketers of team India – Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina – announced their retirements from international cricket on Saturday (August 15). MS Dhoni announced it first on Instagram then Suresh Raina followed.

Here are the social media posts from both the cricketers:

"Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," MS Dhoni wrote along with an Instagram post of a montage capturing his career with the national team.

"It was nothing but lovely playing with you, @mahi7781 . With my heart full of pride, I choose to join you in this journey. Thank you India. Jai Hind!," Suresh Raina posted with a picture of Indian teammates.

The two players are also known for their beautiful bond of friendship and here are shared qualities which make them best friends.

Small Town Boys

Both Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina are from small towns and have made it large in the field of cricket. While Dhoni belongs to Ranchi, Raina is from Muradnagar in Uttar Pradesh. It is said that when Raina made his debut in 2005, he used to sleep on floor during his trips, saying he is accustomed to that; interestingly MS Dhoni joined him and slept with him on the floor.

Always there in difficult times

Being a cricketer does not mean cake walk, even the greatest of cricketers deal with bad form and media gets brutal some time. In Dhoni and Raina's case, both the cricketers stood by each other in the difficult times and have been seen making witty replies to divert topic from other.

Big Partnerships

Statistics prove it too. The average partnership between Dhoni and Raina in ODIs is 62.14, with nine century and 17 half-century partnerships. It is the highest among any other Indian partnerships and that says a lot about their on-field yaari to be sure.

The Family Connection

It is said that Suresh Raina was the first person among Dhoni's friends to know about arrival of Ziva. It is also said that he was the first to know about the Test cricket retirement plan of the former Indian skipper.

Now, even their daughters have become best friends and are often seen playing together.

Both the players have now decided to go on a different journey to play the second innings of their lives. News Heads wish them all the best.