MS Dhoni shocked the cricketing world when he announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2014 at the age of just 33. Nearly a decade later, the legendary wicketkeeper-batter revealed the reason behind his unexpected decision. Dhoni, who had become India’s white-ball captain in 2007 and took over as the all-format skipper the following year, led the team to unprecedented heights.
Under his leadership, the Men in Blue won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Additionally, Dhoni guided India to the top of the Test rankings for the first time in 2009.
Despite his success and consistent performance in the longest format of the game, Dhoni caught the cricket fraternity off guard by announcing his retirement from Test cricket after the third Test against Australia in Melbourne in December 2014. At that time, MS Dhoni was still at his peak, regularly contributing significant runs for the team. Almost 10 years later, Dhoni explained that his decision was driven by a desire to spend more time with his family.
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In an interview, he shared that the relentless schedule of international cricket left little room for personal life. “When you play international cricket, especially being part of the Indian team for a very long time, what you miss a lot is family time,” Dhoni said. “Till 2015, I was playing all formats. I was barely home in between series, which gave us like five or six days off. Traveling to Ranchi and back would take a couple of days, and then there were endorsements and other commitments.”
I Want to Spend Bit More Time with Family; Parents Are Aging: MS Dhoni
Nearly ten years after his surprise retirement from Test cricket, #MSDhoni has revealed what prompted him to step away from the longest format at the height of his powers.https://t.co/YOws5dC5DZ
— News18 CricketNext (@cricketnext) May 21, 2024
kquote>Dhoni continued, “From 2015 onwards, I realized I wanted to spend more time with family. Parents are ageing, you get married but hardly spend time with your wife, and if you have kids, they grow up so quickly. I wanted to be there for those moments.” His statement was reported by News18 Cricket Next.
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Recently, MS Dhoni played for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Although CSK did not secure a playoff berth, Dhoni’s performance remained exemplary. At 42, he finished the tournament with an astonishing strike rate of 220.55, demonstrating that his class and skill remain undiminished.
