'Bapu you arrived and made me leave?' - Axar Patel recalls how MS Dhoni pulled his leg after announcing Test retirement

Axar also revealed that Suresh Raina started crying after knowing about Dhoni's Test retirement.

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MS Dhoni and Axar Patel
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MS Dhoni and Axar Patel. (Photo Source: Getty Images)

India all-rounder Axar Patel made his debut in the Test format in February 2021 against England and picked up a total of 7 wickets. But, he was part of the Test team during India’s 2014 tour of Australia, which marked the last appearance for the former captain MS Dhoni in the red-ball format. Axar had replaced the injured Ravindra Jadeja in the squad.

He revealed the dressing room atmosphere after MS Dhoni announced his retirement on the 2nd day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on the Breakfast with Champions show hosted by Gaurav Kapur on YouTube. He stated that it was Ravi Shastri who informed the players about the decision of Dhoni and called the meeting, and disclosed that Suresh Raina started crying as soon as he heard about the retirement.

“Everyone was quiet and Ravi (Shastri) Bhai called for a meeting. ‘Everybody… we have to make an announcement. Mahi is retiring’. (Suresh) Raina Bhai started crying. I was like ‘What just happened? Everyone around me was crying. I was in another world, ‘What just happened? What is going on?,” Axar said.

Axar Patel further recalled the chat with Dhoni, after the retirement announcement. The 28-year-old said, Dhoni pulled his leg by joking that it was due to his arrival, that he was leaving the Indian team, but soon hugged him. “I didn’t even know what to say. It was the first time I was meeting Mahi Bhai. But before I said anything, he only said: ‘Bapu you arrived and made me leave? I was like ‘what did I do?’. Then I teared up and thought I just arrived and he is leaving. Then he said that he’s just joking and then hugged me,” Axar added.

MS Dhoni knows how to get the best out of any player: Axar Patel

After the chat about the retirement, Axar picked out the key quality of MS Dhoni, which made him successful over the years. He said Dhoni knows how to use the player in each situation, and has the ability to know the player’s talent beforehand as well. “Actually he knew exactly how to use a player and get the best out of him. He knew the player better than the player knew himself. He knew how to extract the juice from the lemon,” Axar added.

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