The right-handed Rahul told espncricinfo, “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 sendoff 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.”
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“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,” he added.
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The Karnataka batsman said, “If we were ever in doubt, or if we wanted to look to somebody for answers, he was always there. He knew when to push the players.”
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Rahul, who is set to take over as India’s limited-overs wicketkeeper, said he struggled to find words to write about Dhoni on social media.
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“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,” Rahul said.
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Rahul is set to reconnect with Dhoni in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2020). The cash-rich Twenty20 tournament will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. Rahul will lead Kings XI Punjab while Dhoni is the captain of Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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