Out of the blue: How Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired suddenly from Tests in 2014 and now from limited-overs cricket

Image Credits: Twitter/@ICC

Experienced wicketkeeper-batsman and India's most successful captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni left everyone by surprise by suddenly calling curtains on his international career on Saturday.

The 39-year-old announced the news of his retirement from the international cricket by taking to his official Instagram account and sharing a video of his cricket journey. 

Along with the video, Dhoni thanked everyone for their love and support throughout his cricket career.

"Thanks.Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired," Dhoni wrote.

View this post on Instagram

Thanks a lot for ur love and support throughout.from 1929 hrs consider me as Retired

A post shared by M S Dhoni (@mahi7781) on Aug 15, 2020 at 7:01am PDT

However, the former Indian skipper's retirement from the limited-overs cricket was as surprising as his retirement from the longest format of the game six years ago.

On December 30, 2014, Dhoni announced that he was bidding adieu to the Test cricket with immediate effect after a drawn match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). 

Dhoni was batting at 24 when the Test match was called off due to incessent rain, with India having four overs and four wickets left in hand in their second-innings.

Surprisingly, the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman did not mention about his decision to retire from the longest format of the game during the post-match conference.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) then shortly released a press release, stating that Dhoni is retiring from Test cricket and citing "the strain of playing all formats" as the reason behind his decision.

Now, Dhoni's retirement from the limited-overs cricket is as shocking for his fans as his Test retirement, with his wife Sakshi recently also quashing the rumours of the same.

In May, #Dhoniretires started trending on Twitter, leaving the cricket fans from across the world confused. Soon, Twitter was filled with nostalgia with Dhoni's fans posting photos and videos of the former captain on the microblogging site. 

But Sakshi had once again rubbished the rumours of the experienced wicketkeeper-batsman's retirement from the international cricket, saying she doesn't know where these things come from.

"He has had zero presence on social media during this lockdown, I don't know where these things come from. I just don't know," Sakshi had said during an Instagram Live session on Chennai Super Kings' official handle.

Speculations over Dhoni's retirement had been in the news ever since India's exit in the 2019 World Cup semi-final to New Zealand as the former skipper took a sabbatical post that.

Dhoni made his international debut for India during a One-Day International (ODI) match against Bangladesh in December 2004.

He notched up a total of 4,876 runs in 90 Tests, 10,773 runs in 350 ODIs and 1,617 runs in 98 matches he played for India in the shortest format of the game.

In 2007, Dhoni was handed over the capataincy during his early days of international career.

He guided India to World Twenty20 Cup in 2007, ended India's 28-year-long wait for the title at the 2011 World Cup as well as to the Champions Trophy final in 2003.Dhoni is the most successful skipper of India as he remains the only captain to win all the major ICC trophies namely 50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy. 

Under his captaincy, Dhoni had led India to a total of 110 ODI wins, 27 Test victories and 41 wins in the shortest format of the game.

Dhoni will now make a return to field after a gap of more than one year when he will lead the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League, which is slated to take place from September 19 to November 10 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).