Shane Warne invites Dhoni to play inaugural edition of The Hundred in 2021

The Hundred is the England and Wales Cricket Board's cricket board's competition and it was set to be launched this year with eight teams including the London Spirit

As wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket, former Australian spinner Shane Warne invited the former India skipper to play the inaugural edition of "The Hundred".

On Saturday, Dhoni had announced his retirement on Instagram. The wicket-keeper-batsman Dhoni shared a video and captioned the post, "Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout. from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired."

The video had the iconic song 'Mai Pal Do Pal Ka Shayar Hu' from Amitabh Bachchan's 'Kabhie Kabhie' playing in the background and in it, Dhoni shared his incredible journey in the Indian side including his run out in the last game against New Zealand in the World Cup 2019 semifinal.

The Hundred is the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) cricket board's competition and it was set to be launched this year with eight teams including the London Spirit.
 

 

What is The Hundred tournament?

The Hundred is franchise based 100-ball cricket tournament to be played in England and Wales and administered by the ECB. The league will consist of eight city-based franchise teams, each of which will field both a men's and women's team.

Warne is the head coach of the London Spirit men's team in the Hundred.

However, the tournament was postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
 

"I just wonder if I could get him down to the London Spirit next year for The Hundred. I might put out a call to see if he wants to play at Lord's. I'll find the money, MS!" Shane Warne told Sky Sports during on-air commentary for the second Test between England and Pakistan.
 

Format of The Hundred tournament

The 100-ball tournament has a very unique format which would excite the fans as they will see for first time five or 10 balls over.

Following the rules and regulations in The Hundred:

• The match will have a total of 200 legal deliveries with 100 balls per innings.
• One over will consist of 10 balls.
• One bowler can bowl a minimum of five and maximum of 10 consecutive balls.
• One bowler can bowl a maximum of 20 balls in a game.

Powerplay

• Powerplay will be of 25 balls.
• Only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle during powerplay.

Timeout

There is one strategic time-out of two-and-a-half minutes per innings for the bowling side.
The coach can walk out to the middle of the ground and discuss tactics with their players mid game.

Duration of 100-ball tournament

A match of The Hundred will last two and a half hours.

Dhoni's international career

Dhoni, hailing from Ranchi, who made his ODI debut in 2004, changed the face of Indian cricket with his calm demeanour, sharp understanding of the game, and astute leadership qualities.

He is among the most successful captains in world cricket. It was under his leadership that India lifted the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 after having led India to triumph in the ICC World T20 in its maiden edition of the tournament held in 2007 in South Africa.

With India winning the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 in England, Dhoni became the first and is still the only captain to date to have won all three ICC Trophies.

While his heroics in the limited-overs formats are well documented, it was also under his leadership that India became the number one Test side in 2009 and the team stayed at the top for over 600 days.

He has led India to victory in 21 home Test matches, the most by an Indian captain. Leaving behind a rich legacy that will be difficult to replicate, Dhoni holds the record for most international matches as captain (332).

Unarguably the quickest man behind the wicket, Dhoni has 195 international stumpings, the most by any wicket-keeper. Dhoni played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka.

Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field. He was also known for his knack of opting for reviews and many have jokingly remarked to change the 'Decision-Review System's' name to 'Dhoni-Review System'.

In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians.

However, the tournament will now be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. He will continue to captain CSK in the IPL 2020.