MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: MS Dhoni of India leaves the field on day five of the Third Test match between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 30: MS Dhoni of India leaves the field on day five of the Third Test match between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 30, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has revealed the shock and surprise of the Indian team when MS Dhoni decided to retire from the Test series in midst of the 2014-15 Australia Test series down under. MS Dhoni played the first three tests of the series as captain and then decided to call time on his career, leaving Virat Kohli as the new Test captain.

Shastri was the director of the Indian cricket team at the time. Dhoni made an unforeseen call to quit Tests after he led India to a heroic draw in the Boxing Day Test in 2014 in Melbourne. He was 33 years old at the time and ended his India Test career with 90 matches, 4876 runs, 6 centuries, and 33 half-centuries with a best of 224.

Dhoni continued leading India in the white-ball formats of the game before giving up the leadership role in 2017. Dhoni retired from international cricket on August 15, 2020, a year after he played his last match at the 2019 World Cup for India.

MS Dhoni and Ravi Shastri. Image- Twitter
MS Dhoni and Ravi Shastri. Image- Twitter

MS Dhoni Was Waiting For An Opportune Time To Make The Announcement: Ravi Shastri

Speaking to Star Sports, Ravi Shastri, who was India’s Team Manager during the 2014 Australia tour, revealed that MS Dhoni had come to him after the draw and told him he wanted to address the team in the dressing room.

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He also revealed that the players were in a state of shock when Dhoni said he wanted to retire from the longest format of the game.

“I knew that the moment MS Dhoni finishes, Virat Kohli is the guy to lead the side. He (MS Dhoni) knew who was the next leader in line. He was waiting for an opportune time to make the announcement.

“He knew how much his body could take and he wanted to prolong his white-ball career. When your body tells you it’s enough, it’s enough, there are no second thoughts about that,” Shastri said.

MS Dhoni during his last Test match for India in 2014. Photo-Getty
MS Dhoni during his last Test match for India in 2014. Photo-Getty

“Well, it came as a surprise. He came to me and said ‘I want to say something to the boys’. I said ‘sure’. I thought he was going to say something about the draw.

“He comes out. I just saw the faces around the dressing room. Most of the boys were in a state of shock when MS made the announcement. But that’s MS for you,” Shastri added.

MS Dhoni remains the only captain in world cricket to win all the three ICC white-ball trophies in the Champions Trophy in 2013, the World Cup in 2011 and the T20 World Cup in 2007.

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