On this day two years ago, MS Dhoni, in a sudden move, announced his retirement from Test cricket in the middle of India’s tour of Australia.
A press realease was issued just 15 minutes after Dhoni had finished speaking with the media after the third Test in Melbourne. Without fanfare or even a farewell match, Dhoni had called it quits from the longest form of the game.
Dhoni, who exemplified calmness on the field, did so even when he conveyed his desire to step away from the format.
“He called up just after the Test match in Melbourne and told me that he wanted to retire from Test cricket,” then BCCI secretary, Sanjay Patel, was quoted as saying by PTI.
“I asked him, ‘What happened? Are you injured or what?’ He just calmly told me, ‘No, I just want to quit Test cricket for good.’ He is an Indian captain and a distinguished cricketer. It’s his personal choice and I needed to respect that.
“I asked him, ‘Is it your final decision,’ and he told me, ‘Please wait a bit as I want to inform the boys about my decision and then you can make an official announcement.’”
The decision shocked fans and cricketers alike. His deputy and successor Virat Kohli was the first member of the squad to express his surprise at the decision.
Dhoni left the sport at a time when the team was in transition. Seniors had all stepped away and the new-comers were finding their feet. Dhoni himself was not at his fluent best with the bat.
India had lost already lost the series 2-0 and were heading into the fourth Test with nothing much to show for their toil.
Dhoni had gone through a lot worse in his stint as skipper. While India were never consistent winners through his tenure, they did rise to the No. 1 ranking for the first time under his leadership. He even eclipsed Sourav Ganguly as the most successful Indian captain.
However, long before being handed the captaincy, Dhoni had entered the Test arena with reputation of an aggressive keeper-batsman after many swashbuckling knocks in the one-day format.
He made his Test debut in December 2005 against Sri Lanka in Chennai. A month later, he had scored his first Test century: a swashbuckling 148 against arch rivals Pakistan in Faislabad.
The knock helped India reply to Pakistan’s mammoth first innings total of 588, with a score of 603. The match ended in a draw, but helped Dhoni showcase his aggressive game in the longest format.
The keeper-batsman even got a chance to roll his arm around. He wasn’t that bad at it either.
Six months later, Dhoni showed off an unexpected facet of his game. Batting with the tail in the fourth innings of the Lord’s Test, he grinded out an unbeaten 76 to take India to a draw. India, helped by rain in the final session, ended at 282/9. They went on to win the series 1-0.
In 2008, he was handed the captaincy for the first time in the format with Anil Kumble injured. Leading the side against South Africa, Dhoni used the spinners smartly on a turning Kanpur track. India won the game by eight wickets and drew the series 1-1.
In December 2008, Dhoni would also begin on a winning note in his first full series as skipper against England at home. Dhoni later also led India to a series win away in New Zealand, to get the first away series win under his belt.
India enjoyed a lot of success in the next few seasons, with wins over Australia, West Indies and also a Test win in South Africa.
However, things changed in 2011, as India were routed 4-0 by both England and Australia. Later, England came to India and won the Test series for the first time in 28 years.
Dhoni led the side out from the doldrums with an aggressive double-century in Chennai. The win saw him become India’s most successful Test captain, and helped the side avenge their 4-0 defeat with a whitewash of their own.
Dhoni could never replicate the performance as captain or as a player. As the old-guard retired one after the other, India’s results with a new young look nose-dived, culminating in the series loss in Australia where Dhoni hung his boots up.
