'It's the end of an era'

'Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolutely brilliant one.'

As Mahendra Singh Dhoni drew curtains on his illustrious, trophy-laden international cricket career on Saturday, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) bosses paid tribute to the former India captain.

"It is the end of an era," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly said in a statement.

"His leadership qualities have been something which will be hard to match, especially in the shorter format of the game.

"Every good thing comes to an end and this has been an absolutely brilliant one," added Ganguly, himself a former India captain.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah called Dhoni "one of the greats of the modern era".

"I wish him all the very best for IPL and his future endeavours," Shah said, suggesting Dhoni would play in this year's Indian Premier League in the United Arab Emirates from September 19.