MS Dhoni. (Photo source: X(Twitter)
MS Dhoni shocked the world when he announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2014, at the age of just 33. Almost a decade later, the talismanic wicketkeeper-batter revealed the reason behind his decision.
Dhoni became India’s white-ball captain in 2007 before becoming the all-format skipper the following year. He led the team to surreal heights during his captaincy tenure. The Men in Blue won the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup, and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy under his astute leadership. Under his captaincy, India became the No. 1 Test team for the first time back in 2009. However, the iconic cricketer caught the cricket fraternity off guard as he announced his retirement after playing the third Test versus Australia in Melbourne in December 2014. He was still at his peak, churning out important runs consistently for the Asian giants in the longest format of the game.
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Nearly 10 years later, Dhoni revealed that he wanted to spend more time with his family and this prompted him to bid farewell to red-ball cricket.
“I think when you play international cricket, especially being part of the Indian team for a very long time, what you miss a lot is the family time. He said, adding. “So, till 2015, I was playing all the formats. I was barely home in between, the series will get like five days, six days off, where if you have to report to some other venue, it takes you another couple of days you go to Ranchi, then come back. So. And in between whatever endorsement work you have to do. So, from 2015 onwards, I realized I actually want to spend a bit more time with the family. You know, parents are ageing then, you get married, but you’re not able to spend a lot of time with your wife. And at the same time, if you have a kid, they’re also growing up,” Dhoni was quoted as saying by News18 Cricket Next.
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Dhoni recently represented Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Men in Yellow crashed out of the campaign after failing to secure a playoffs berth. However, the 42-year-old showed his class throughout the tournament and finished with a remarkable strike rate of 220.55.