India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has said that Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, was in tears after pulling the curtains on his Test career in 2014.

In a video he posted on his YouTube channel, Ashwin remembered India’s tour of Australia in 2014. After the second Test of that tour, Dhoni famously announced his retirement from Test cricket in a shocking move.

Ashwin said that Dhoni got quite emotional later on after making his decision.

“I remember when he retired from Test cricket in 2014, I was batting with him to save the match in Melbourne,” said Ashwin.

“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.”

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Talking about his initial interactions with the former India captain, Ashwin said that it didn’t take him long to realise that Dhoni was a natural leader.

“I first met him as a net bowler during an India-West Indies ODI at Chepauk. And then when I joined Chennai Super Kings in 2008, I got to work with him and learn a lot. He had that long hair when I met him earlier but then after spending time with him at CSK I realised what a mature leader he was,” he said.

Ashwin also spoke a piece of advice he received from Dhoni early on in his career which has stayed with him till now.

“During the 2010 Champions League, he taught me a very important lesson. I bowled the Super Over against the Victoria Bushrangers [CSK lost the game] and MS came up to me and said, ‘you didn’t bowl your best ball under pressure. You’ve got the carrom ball and you need to use it a lot more’.

“And that’s something he always maintained with respect to me. He said I was very, very innovative and skillful and I must keep sharpening this aspect of my game. This advice stuck with me and I follow it to date,” said Ashwin.

Watch the video here:

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