‘You left me midway in my last Test match’: Ishant Sharma reveals what Dhoni told him while retiring from Test cricket

India seamer Ishant Sharma is on the verge of writing a new chapter in the history of Indian cricket. The right-arm pacer is likely to get picked for the pink-ball Test against England, which begins on Wednesday in Ahmedabad, and in doing so, he will complete a century of Test matches in his career.

Ahead of the milestone game, Ishant had a fun interaction with his teammate and hero of the second Test – Ravichandran Ashwin on YouTube, in which the two recalled the time they spent with former India captain MS Dhoni.

Also read: How Kohli informed Ishant about his first-ever selection into Team India

Ishant shared an anecdote from the 2014-15 Test series Down Under which turned out to be Dhoni’s last series in whites. The senior Indian quick revealed how he came to know about Dhoni’s shocking decision of retirement.

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“I felt very bad (on MS Dhoni’s retirement). I had taken many injections for that Melbourne Test match because I was experiencing severe pain in my knee. I did not know that Mahi bhai was going to retire. In fact, nobody knew that he was going to retire. So, I was taking an injection every session,” Ishant said.

“When it was almost Tea on Day 4, and Australia were about to declare… I told Mahi bhai that I cannot take injections any more. So, he told me, that’s okay. You don’t need to bowl now. Then something happened, and he told me, ‘lambu tune mujhe Test match mein chhod diya’ (you have deserted me in a Test match). I did not understand. Then he elaborated, ‘you left me midway in my last Test match’”, Ishant added.

Not only for Ishant but it was a stunning moment for all the teammates. Recalling his reaction, the Indian pacer said, “I was stunned. I told him if I knew I would definitely have continued to play. So that was a really touching story. I didn’t know till the last day that he was retiring.”

Further describing MS Dhoni, Ishant stated that the former Indian captain was someone who cared little for numbers but always thought about the team’s welfare.

“Although he was close to 100 Tests, he was always a team man. I remember he told me he when we were in England that it is not important for him to play hundred Tests. Instead, he felt that we need to start grooming (Wriddhiman) Saha. That’s why he took the sudden decision to retire, I feel,” Ishant said.