Mahender Singh Dhoni, hailed as the greatest captain of his generation and unarguably sits among the great leaders of cricket, stepped down from captaincy duties in the limited over format, opening doors for Virat Kohli just ahead of the upcoming Champions Trophy.
Dhoni, however, will remain available for selection for the three-match series against England starting January 15 and the three subsequent Twenty20 internationals.
MS Dhoni, who took over India's limited-overs captain in September 2007, enjoys impressive repute in the game. Under his captaincy, India won the inaugural 2007 World Twenty20, the 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Test skipper Virat Kohli, regarded among the best batsmen in the world, is the leading candidate to replace Dhoni.
"The Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket," said Rahul Johri, chief executive of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Many cricket experts and pundits called it a right decision by Captain Cool.
"All things considered though, Dhoni has taken the right decision. Over the last year, this had become Kohli's team," tweets analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle.
Bhogle was of the view, that Dhoni has achieved everything the game has to offer, so it is best to give Kohli a chance just ahead of the 2017 Champions Trophy, to be held later this June in England.
"Trying to think like #Dhoni. Kohli most likely 2019 World Cup captain, so best that he leads in the Champions Trophy so best he starts now."
Dhoni led his country in 199 ODIs and 72 Twenty20 Internationals; he also captained the side in 60 Test matches during 2008 and 2014 and holds the overall record for the most international matches as a captain with 331.
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