Melbourne 2014: When MS Dhoni retired from Tests with immediate effect and the shit hit the fan

Press Box 2020

The Boxing Day Test of 2014 couldn't have ended in a more perfect fashion at the MCG as far as the Press Box was concerned. Despite it having been a run-heavy affair on a Melbourne pitch that was fast-gaining a reputation of being the flattest in the country, the facile draw which gave Australia an unassailable lead in the series meant everybody could go ahead with their New Year plans in stress-free fashion. Dhoni's post-match press conference too added to that relaxed air. Then, just minutes later, all hell broke loose, as a press release from the BCCI announced that the Indian captain had retired from Tests with immediate effect.

Anand Vasu & Bharat Sundaresan still shudder while recalling the aftermath of that shock retirement, which included freezing their backsides off outside the Indian team hotel as they desperately tried to make sense of it. Not to forget the impact it briefly had on their personal lives. And in this episode of Press Box 2020, you'll hear a lot about how our co-hosts dealt with the mayhem that Dhoni had casually caused by slipping away into the sunset.

While Anand managed to get team director Ravi Shastri that night to reveal the scenes inside the Indian dressing-room, Bharat would go on to write a book on the man who ruined that New Year for him, and he grudgingly shares some of the aspects of Dhoni's life that make him such an enigma while wondering whether the seeds of what would eventually become the book were sown on that chilly evening in Melbourne.

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