“Maine Test hundred mara, bas that’s it,” Laxman recalls Dhoni joking about retirement after ton against Pakistan

MS Dhoni hit his maiden Test ton in 2006 Faisalabad Test against Pakistan- 148 in 153 balls.

MS Dhoni hit his first Test hundred against Pakistan in 2006 Faisalabad Test | Getty

Former India batsman VVS Laxman saw MS Dhoni from close quarters given that he played under his captaincy for quite some time until his retirement in 2012. As Dhoni has also announced his retirement from international cricket, Laxman recalled how Dhoni was like, off the field.

Laxman said, on Star Sports' 'Cricket Connected' show, Dhoni always wanted to have fun when he was not hitting those big sixes or working on tactics from behind the stumps.

He recalled an instance when Dhoni joked about retiring from Tests after scoring his maiden Test hundred against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2006.

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"I still remember him coming back into the dressing room and loudly saying 'I am going to announce my retirement - MS Dhoni, mai hundred maara Test cricket mein, bas yaar [I, MS Dhoni, have hit a century in Test cricket that's it!]. I don't want anything more from Test cricket!’” Laxman recalls.

"And we were shocked and surprised to hear that. But that's what MS Dhoni always was," Laxman said.

Dhoni got his first Test hundred on India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006. He smashed 148 from just 153 balls, hitting 16 boundaries and 4 sixes to help India post 603 on the board.

Laxman also shared a story of how MS Dhoni drove the team bus in Nagpur from the hotel to the ground.
VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni | Getty"The second time was in a Test match against Australia in Nagpur," Laxman said.

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"He was the captain of the Indian team because Anil [Kumble] announced his retirement two matches before in Delhi. And MS Dhoni asked the team bus driver to just go and sit behind, and he drove the team bus from the ground to the hotel in Nagpur, and we were all awestruck. The captain of the Indian team, driving the team bus!” VVS said.

"That's how he used to enjoy his life. For him, being a cricketer was doing everything on the cricket field, but outside the field, everything was normal,” Laxman signed off.

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 17 Aug, 2020

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