Shastri Reminisces on Dhoni's Surprising '5-Minute' Farewell Speech After Ashwin's Retirement

Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement from international cricket brought about an uncanny feeling of déjà vu for the cricket fraternity, as it reminded them of MS Dhoni's abrupt departure from Test cricket during a series against Australia in 2014. This unexpected announcement, made at the Gabba right after the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in a draw, evoked memories of Dhoni's farewell speech in the dressing room, which lasted only five minutes, according to former India head coach Ravi Shastri.

The former India captain announced his sudden retirement from Tests in December 2014, midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, which India were trailing 0-2. His announcement came completely out of the blue, as he had not given any signals of stepping down from Test cricket.

Recalling that day in Melbourne, after the drawn Test at the MCG, Shastri said Dhoni wanted to speak to the team members. While he reckoned it was to congratulate the players on holding Australia to a draw, but he instead announced his retirement.

Shastri told SEN Radio: “Dhoni didn’t wait. I was the coach. He said, Ravi, I need to have a chat with the boys for five minutes. Since we drew the game at the MCG, I said, sure. I thought he would say, ‘Boys, well done’. Instead, he just said, ‘Thank you. I’m done with this.'”

“There’s one Test match to go back. He just, you know, just walked up there. Five-minute speech. No tantrums, no shenanigans. ‘I’m done. Thank you very much for your support. You know, I won’t be there in Sydney, but my total support for you guys.’ Because after that was the World Cup. And he was the captain of the World Cup side.”

Recalling the dressing-room atmosphere, Shastri recalled that none of the players, even those he spent time with, had any clue that Dhoni was about to announce his retirement at the MCG.

"I looked around the dressing room. I asked players if he had had a chat with them. No one had a clue. Even the guys who went out or spent time with him three days before that. No one had a clue he’s going to come and say what he did," he said.

The veteran India all-rounder further admitted that he always believed Dhoni, already a World Cup-winning captain, would go on to play 100 Test matches, the milestone match in Ranchi.

Shastri added: "He had played 94 or 95 Test matches. Normally, you know, in India, a player of his stature, if he plays his 100th Test match and they had given that Test match to say Ranchi, the whole town would have been there at the ground to celebrate that 100th Test… But none of that stuff for him. He just said, ‘I want to pack my bags. I’m done with whites.'”