Dhoni keeps mum on retirement issue

At the best of times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India operates like a secret society. And obviously the Indian cricket players behave as members of that group.  

 

On most occasions the attitude is even justifiable because of fear of the wrath of the powers that be, but there have been instances where they have been a little insensitive to their legion of fans which, in the end, makes them what they are. The Indian cricket team has endured a roller-coaster ride, both on and off the field, during the Test series against Australia but little has been done as a damage-controlling exercise.

First they were hit by an alleged dressing-room spat between Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan during the second Test at the Gabba, then there was unnecessary furore over the lack of vegetarian menu for lunch during the same Test and their excuse of bad practice pitches came as the proverbial sour grapes. What, however, stunned everyone the most was MS Dhoni’s retirement from Tests following the drawn match here at the MCG.

Millions of Dhoni fans were and still are curious to know what actually made him quit in the face of several theories being floated around as reasons for his sudden retirement. If he didn’t want to take the focus away from the Test series by discussing his decision immediately, Dhoni now had a good opportunity to clear the air on the eve of their opening tri-series match against Australia.

Addressing the media at the same venue where he spoke to scribes one last time as the Test skipper, Dhoni steadfastly refused to entertain any questions on his retirement.  “The press release was sent. I have nothing else to explain,” he remarked when asked as to why he retired from Tests.

One more attempt was made. “Why won’t you talk about your Test retirement?”
“That’s my decision, isn’t it?” Dhoni pointed out before adding with a good measure, “you can ask the questions. I will answer if I want to.”