Ravi Shastri Calls MS Dhoni’s Decision To Abruptly Quit Test Cricket ‘Brave And Selfless’

Former India cricketer and currently the head coach of the India national cricket team, Ravi Shastri lauded former India captain, MS Dhoni, by saying that his decision to suddenly retire from Test cricket in 2014 was a brave and selfless one.

MS Dhoni was leading India on a tour of Australia in 2014-15 when abruptly he announced his retirement from Test cricket after the third Test of the four-match series was completed. He finished his Test career on 90 matches and Shastri praised him to not drag himself to play the elusive 100 Tests. India’s 2011 World Cup-winning captain’s last Test match came in Melbourne in 2014, which ended in a draw.

I Think MS Dhoni’s Decision To Retire Was Correct; Also Brave And Selfless: Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri was with the Indian team on that tour as director of the team and recalled the conversation he had with Dhoni about his decision to retire in his book “Stargazing: The players in my life”.

“MS was India’s, in fact the world’s, biggest player then with three ICC trophies under his belt, including two World Cups, and some very impressive silverware from the IPL. His form was good, and he was just 10 matches shy of completing 100 Tests.

Still one of the top-three fittest players on the team, he would have the opportunity to boost his career stats if nothing else. True, he wasn’t getting any younger, but he wasn’t that old either! His decision just didn’t make sense,” wrote Shastri in his book “Stargazing: The players in my life” that was released recently.

Dhoni retired from Tests with 4876 runs in 90 matches with 6 centuries at an average of 38.09 and the best score of 224.

There Was A Firmness To MS Dhoni’s Tone That Stopped Me From Pushing The Matter: Ravi Shastri

Further writing in his book, Shastri admitted that he tried his best to convince Dhoni not to retire when the two were having a talk about it and the then-India captain told him about his decision. However, he feels Dhoni took the right decision by sticking to it.

“All cricketers say landmarks and milestones don’t matter, but some do. I approached the issue in a roundabout way, probing for an opening to make him change his mind. But there was a firmness to MS’s tone that stopped me from pushing the matter any further. Looking back, I think his decision was correct; also brave and selfless. Giving up on the most powerful position in cricket in the world, in a way, couldn’t have been easy,” Shastri wrote in his book.

Though he continued to play for India in limited-overs format after his Test retirement and captained the Men in Blue till 2017, Dhoni bid goodbye to international cricket on August 15, 2020, and his final match in India colors was the semi-final loss to New Zealand in the ICC 2019 World Cup in England.

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