'That day I retired. They kept saying "No you continue': MS Dhoni recalls scenes after 2019 WC semis

Cricket fans may vividly remember the date, July 9, 2019. It was the day when MS Dhoni played his last innings for India. At that moment when he was going back to the dressing room with a chip on the shoulder that he could not lead India to a win in the World Cup semi-final, little did anybody knew that it was the swansong of India's uncapped hero. A year later on August 15, 2020, he officially announced his retirement from the international circuit.

3 things you need to know

• MS Dhoni announced his international retirement on August 15, 2020, through an Instagram post
• MS Dhoni is the only captain in the world to have won all three ICC trophies
• Dhoni played a total of 538 matches for India, scoring more than 16 thousand runs

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MS Dhoni reflects on his final game for India

For the first time since making an unceremonious exit from the realm of international cricket, MS Dhoni has broken the silence about his in-famous retirement announcement. At a function in Bangalore, Dhoni reflected on the dreaded day when India lost the semi-final to New Zealand in the ICC ODI World Cup 2019 and made it known that he retired in his head that day.

"It is difficult to control the emotions when you lose a close game. To me that was the last day I played for India. That day I retired (in my head) although I announced it a year later," said Dhoni at an event. MSD further elaborated on the episode and said that he was going through emotions and did it want to blurt out at that moment.

"We are given some machines which we wear. Every time I went to the trainer to return it, they kept saying 'No you continue to keep it'. I used to think how do I tell this person I don't need it anymore. I did not want to announce it at that point of time," said Dhoni.

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MS Dhoni opens up on how the emotions got to him

Dhoni also explained how it was an emotional moment for him when he realised that he would not be returning to the thing that he had been doing for the last 15 years.

"You are high on emotions (on retirement day). The only thing you have done in the last 15 years is represent your country. Then comes a day when there is no chance of representing your country. Once I quit cricket there was no way I would be representing my country. So, all of those things made me high on emotions," said Dhoni remembering his last day in international cricket.