Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni finally ended the long lasting speculation over his future in international cricket as he announced his retirement on Saturday. Several cricketers are taking to social media to pay tribute to the cricketing legend. Among them is his former Chennai Super Kings teammate and Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. Ashwin released a video on his YouTube channel as a tribute to Dhoni, where he recounted his top five moments with the cricketing legend.
In the video, Ashwin went down memory lane as he recalled the moment when Dhoni hung his boots from the longest format of the game; Test cricket, in Australia. Popularly known as 'Captain Cool' for his ability to always remain calm and composed, Ashwin, along with teammates Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma noticed an emotional Dhoni who was in tears after making the decision.
Ashwin recollected the moment when he remembered batting with Dhoni at Melbourne in 2014, which was the latter's last Test match, which India lost.
“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,” Ashwin said.
R Ashwin has played alongside MS Dhoni at close quarters during his years at the Chennai Super Kings and said that he realised the leadership skills that Dhoni possessed.
“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," the off-spinner said.
Further in the video, Ashwin also credited Dhoni for giving him healthy advice in his early days. He spoke about how he sticks to it even in the present.
“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 Dhoni 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," Ashwin said.
"He said I was 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,” he added.
Watch the video below.