Having Carried on the burden of captaining Team India for over a decade,M S Dhoni stepped down as Captain down as captain of the India ODI and T20I teams. But, somethings to cherish upon for the cricket fans is that MS Dhoni will lead out an Indian team for one last time when he captains India A in the first warm-up match against England in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 10.

Dhoni, who has not played an International game in over two months, will lead the India A side in the opening warm-up on January 10. Rahane, who is getting back to his form from an injury, will lead the side in the second warm-up on January 12.

The other big shots who will be followed with a lot of intent are  the comeback man Yuvraj Singh, who is expected to be a key part of Virat Kohli’s plans for the ICC Champions Trophy this year. Veteran pace bowler Ashish Nehra will also aim to get his sharpness and his form back after returning from a surgery, ahead of a gruelling season.Shikhar Dhawan, who was out with thumb fracture and since then did little in Ranji matches that he has played. But cynosure of all eyes will certainly be the Jharkhand dasher.

BCCI’s way of giving farewell to Dhoni’s the captain, the chairman of selector MSK Prasad said he is a natural skipper.

“He is the best guy to look after the youngsters. We know what Mahi does. It is not about him stepping down or anything like that. He is a captain by nature; he leads from the front. Dhoni went to Zimbabwe also for the same reason and that is why he is named India-A captain,” Prasad had said.

For Dhoni, the match will give a chance for some real time simulations as he has not played any competitive cricket for more than 70 days since the New Zealand series that ended in October even though he has been constantly training in the nets of Ranchi.

Before the start of the limited overs series in Pune on January 15, England are scheduled to play two warm-up matches (50 overs) against an India A on January 10 and 12 at the CCI ground in Mumbai.

Unofficial sources have confirmed that this match, for the first time will be telecasted in Star Sports!!