MS Dhoni wore his jersey entire night after Test retirement, shed few tears: Ravi Ashwin

Fans are still recovering from the shock and grief that came with the news of MS Dhoni’s abrupt retirement. Teammates and other cricket giants have been unstoppable in sending tribute and congratulatory messages on veteran cricketer’s way. Senior spinner Ravi Ashwin, who has had the fortune of spending enough time with the captain cool talked of some emotional moments that happened post-Dhoni’s Test retirement, mid-way in a series against Kangaroos on December 19, 2014.

Ace spinner has enormous respect for the CSK skipper and feels he is also among those who honed his skill under Dhoni’s guidance. Talking about the retirement of the 39-year-old, Ashwin said MS shed few tears and wore his Test jersey all night long out of his love for the game. He along with Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina accompanied him that day in his room all that while.

Ashwin stated in a video posted on his YouTube channel, “I remember when he retired from Test cricket in 2014, I was batting with him to save the match in Melbourne, 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.”

 I realized what a mature leader MSD was: Ravi Ashwin

During the Lockdown period, Ashwin spoke in an interesting session on Instagram as to how he entered into the CSK squad. The 33-year-old spoke, “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 realized what a mature leader he was.”

With spinner polishing his skills over time, he went on to become one of the key figures of the CSK Army and remained in association with the team till 2017. He moved to KXIP for the 2018 edition of IPL and will now be donning Delhi Capitals’ jersey in the 13th edition of IPL.