Exactly 8 years ago on this day, December 30, MS Dhoni shocked the cricketing fraternity by announcing his retirement from Test cricket. The former India captain was leading the visiting side in the four-match Test series against Australia and wasn’t expected to make such a big call.
Dhoni missed the first Test match of the series due to an injury. Virat Kohli led the team in his absence. A few minutes after India drew the 3rd Test match, Dhoni made the shocking announcement and quit the longest format. Kohli was appointed India’s full-time Test captain for the 4th Test match.
Even though he retired from Test cricket, Dhoni stayed with the team and only returned home after the end of the 2015 World Cup in March. R Ashwin, who was part of the complete Australia tour, revealed what Dhoni did after quitting Test cricket.
Speaking on his YouTube channel 2 years back, R Ashwin revealed that Dhoni shed a few tears and wore his Test jersey all night. “I remember when he retired from Test cricket in 2014, I was batting with him to save the match in Melbourne. But once we lost, he simply picked up a stump and walked off saying he’s done. It was quite an emotional moment for him. Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina and I were sitting in his room that evening. He was still wearing his Test match jersey through the entire night and he shed a few tears as well,” Ashwin said.
While India enjoyed much success at home under Dhoni’s leadership, they suffered back-to-back series defeats in Australia and England. Team India also suffered a shocking defeat in the home Test series against England in 2012.
Dhoni, a future ICC Hall of Famer, finished his career with 27 wins from 60 Test matches. He quit white-ball captaincy in January 2017. Dhoni played his final match for India in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. He announced his retirement from international cricket in August 2020.
