On August 15th, 2020, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket, though his last game for the Indian national team had come more than a year prior. The iconic skipper's swansong was the semi-final of the 2019 Cricket World Cup against New Zealand at Manchester's Old Trafford Cricket Stadium on July 9th/10th. Dhoni's departure from the international stage marked the end of an era, as he had been a stalwart of the Indian cricket team for over a decade.
For over a year, there was much speculation surrounding MS Dhoni's future in international cricket before he finally posted an emotional montage on Instagram, announcing his decision to retire from the national team after a 15-year career. Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar has now revealed a never-before-heard story, stating that Dhoni knew that the 2019 World Cup would be his last with the national team.
The ex-Indian coach shared a conversation between Rishabh Pant and MS Dhoni on the morning of the reserve day of the 2019 World Cup semi-final, in which the two wicket-keeper batsmen discussed their plans to travel to London. This conversation was a telling sign of Dhoni's impending retirement, as he had already made up his mind to step away from the international stage.
"I can now reveal that at the time of the interview to the BCCI, which I attended from Antigua, I was reasonably certain that for all practical purposes, MS had played his last match for the country. He hadn't announced it, of course, but I will tell you why I knew. On the morning of the reserve day in our World Cup semi final against New Zealand in Manchester, I was the first person at the breakfast hall. I was nursing my coffee when MS and Rishabh walked in, picked up their stuff and joined me at my table," Sridhar wrote in his book 'Coaching beyond - My Days with the Indian cricket team.'
"New Zealand had only a couple of overs to bat out and we'd start our innings thereafter, so the match would end reasonably early. Rishabh told MS in Hindi, 'Bhaiyya, some of the guys are planning to leave for London today itself privately. Would you be interested?' MS replied, 'No, Rishabh, I don't want to miss my last bus drive with the team," he added.
Despite a valiant half-century from MS Dhoni, the Indian team, led by Virat Kohli, suffered a heartbreaking loss to New Zealand in the semi-final. Led by Kane Williamson, the Kiwis edged out the Men in Blue by a mere 18 runs in a thrilling contest.
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