Former Indian skipper MS Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket on 30th December 2014 and his decision to do so shocked one and all in the cricketing fraternity.
Just before the announcement, Dhoni had played gritty innings to grind out a draw in the 3rd Test of the 4-match series against the Aussies. This draw helped Australia to take an unassailable 2-0 lead but what happened later was a shock for the Indian team.
Rajdeep Sardesai in his book ‘Democracy XI’ has unveiled that even Ravi Shastri was unaware and surprised by the decision. Shastri, who was the director of Team India then had no idea that Dhoni was thinking to hang his boots from the longest format of the game. He told Sardesai, “I had no inkling about what he had in his mind but that’s typical of MS Dhoni. There are no half measures in what he does.”
Dhoni only informed to BCCI’s secretary about his decision and later on a team meeting was arranged to inform the team. As per the reports, this news shocked the players, some even cried hearing this news.
It was pretty unusual to see a legend like Dhoni retiring without any farewell or fanfare. Rajdeep revealed that Mahi didn’t have any discussion with anyone before taking the decision.
Former Indian skipper opened up about his thinking behind the decision. Dhoni thought it was the perfect time to retire as Virat Kohli seemed ready to lead the team. He said, “I just felt that it was the right time and the right thing to do. Virat was ready to lead the team and a young wicketkeeper was emerging in Wriddhiman Saha who I felt deserved more opportunities.”
Cricket lovers found it difficult to digest the fact that the captain of Indian team decided to retire midway through the series. However, Dhoni said, “Look we had lost the series so there was no point hanging on. Virat was in great form and deserved a go. As for Tests, to be honest, milestones don’t make a difference to me. Maybe if I had played 100 Tests I would have thought otherwise, but I was happy with what I had achieved and was leaving with no regrets.”
