MS Dhoni shocked the entire cricketing fraternity calling time on his Test career in the winter of 2014 during India’s tour of Australia. A close confidant of Dhoni, Ishant Sharma, who is on the cusp of playing 100 Test matches, recalled what the former India skipper said before his retirement.
Dhoni played 90 Tests for India having made his Test debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka in Chennai. He was one of the best captains to play the game ever and took Indian cricket to greater heights and under his leadership, India reached the top of the ICC Test Rankings.
I felt said on MS Dhoni’s retirement – Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma also revealed that he played in that Test match despite a severe knee injury, but also said that he was unaware that MS Dhoni would announce his retirement from Tests after the Test match. In a video interaction with Ravichandran Ashwin on the eve of his 100th Test, Ishant revealed that no one knew that Dhoni was playing his last Test match.
“I felt very bad (on MS Dhoni’s retirement). I had taken many injections for that Melbourne Test match because I was experiencing severe pain in my knee. I did not know that Mahi bhai (Mahendra Singh Dhoni) was going to retire. In fact, nobody knew that he was going to retire. So I was taking an injection every session,” he said.
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“At tea on the fourth day, I told Mahi bhai I cannot take injections any more. So he told me, that’s okay. You don’t need to bowl now. Then something happened, and he told me, ‘lambu tune mujhe Test match mein chod diya’ (you left me during the Test). I did not understand. Then he elaborated, ‘you left me midway in my last Test match’,” he added.
Adding further, Ishant Sharma said that he would have continued to play even with injections if he knew MS Dhoni was playing his last Test match. Dhoni played 90 Test matches scoring 4876 runs at an average of touch over 38 and also affected 256 catches and 38 stumpings.
“I was stunned. I told him if I knew I would definitely have continued to play. So that was a really touching story. I didn’t know till the last day that he was retiring,” Ishant recalled.
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