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Former India captain MS Dhoni announced a sudden retirement from Test cricket in 2014. The former Indian skipper decided to bid adieu to the longest format of the game in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar trophy in Australia. Former Team India coach, who was the side's manager at that time, recalled how the announcement came as a shock for everyone.
“Well, it came as a surprise. He came to me and said ‘I want to say something to the boys’. I said ‘sure’. I thought he was going to say something about the draw. He comes out. I just saw the faces around the dressing room. Most of the boys were in a state of shock when MS made the announcement. But that’s MS for you,” Shastri said.
The former coach also added that he was confident Virat Kohli will be the perfect heir after Dhoni in leadership.
“I knew that the moment MS Dhoni finishes, Virat Kohli is the guy to lead the side. He (MS Dhoni) knew who was the next leader in line,” Shastri told Star Sports. “He was waiting for an opportune time to make the announcement. He knew how much his body could take and he wanted to prolong his white-ball career. When your body tells you it’s enough, it’s enough, there are no second thoughts about that,” he added.
Earlier, Shastri had talked about the captaincy saga and had backed BCCI's decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as white-ball skipper. Shastri also added that the split captaincy can do wonders for Virat Kohli as he can now focus more on his batting.
“I think it’s the right way to go (split captaincy). This could be a blessing in disguise for Virat and for Rohit. I don’t think in this era with bubble life one guy can handle all three (captaincy in all three formats). It’s not easy at all,” the former Indian coach said.