Former India captain MS Dhoni had surprised everyone with an unexpected announcement of Test retirement in December 2014. Team India were on the Australia tour and they had drawn the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when Dhoni made the decision.

The then team director Ravi Shastri recalled the moment while speaking to Star Sports. He said it was shocking for everyone in the dressing room when Dhoni, who was 10 Tests short of completing 100 Test matches, announced his decision.

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Dhoni had handed over the captaincy role to Virat Kohli and Shastri felt it was the right call. "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 said.

Playing all three formats being a wicketkeeper and captain was taking a toll on Dhoni's body and he took the decision to focus on limited-overs cricket. Shastri said a sportsperson can't ignore the calls from inside to take care of the body.

"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.

"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 added.

Dhoni scored 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09 in the 90 Test matches; 60 of those as a captain. 

(With Star Sports Inputs)