India's playing XI from MS Dhoni's last Test - Where are they now?
December 30, 2014 is a date that no MS Dhoni fan can forget. It was the day when the former Indian wicket-keeper batter donned the whites for the last time in his international career.
Not a single cricket fan would have expected MS Dhoni to retire from Test cricket the way he did. In a recent interview, Ravi Shastri revealed that the dressing room was shocked when Dhoni announced his decision to retire from Test cricket.
His last Test came against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2014. The game ended in a closely contested draw. Here's a look at India's playing XI from that game and where those players are now.
Openers - Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan
Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan opened for India in that MCG Test match. While Vijay scored a half-century in the first innings, Dhawan returned with scores of 28 & 0 in MS Dhoni's last Test.
Both Vijay and Dhawan are now out of the Indian Test team. Vijay played his last game for India in 2018, whereas Dhawan is currently only a regular fixture in the Indian ODI squad now.
Middle Order - Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul and MS Dhoni (C and WK)
Very few cricketers in the world played their last Test as captain. MS Dhoni is one of them. He scored 11 runs in the first innings and remained unbeaten on 24 in the second innings of his final Test. Ryan Harris was the last bowler to dismiss Dhoni in Test cricket.
India had a very strong middle-order comprising Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul alongside MS Dhoni in that game. Kohli was in great form as he registered a century and a half-century. Rahane supported him with scores of 147 & 48, while Pujara and Rahul could not make much of an impact in Melbourne.
WHAT. A. WIN! 🤩🇮🇳
An historic victory for India as the become the first Asian team and only the third overseas side to win at the SuperSport Park in Centurion 👏
#SAvIND #CricketTwitter https://t.co/w5NKyrT3hB
Dhoni has retired from all forms of international cricket and only plays in the IPL now. Rahane, Kohli, Pujara and Rahul are all actively playing Test cricket for India. They were part of the Indian playing XI that recently made history by becoming the first Asian team to win a Test in Centurion.
Bowlers - Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami
First training session done well in 🇿🇦✅ https://t.co/9k0vHbLxq0
India played with three pacers and one spinner in MS Dhoni's last Test match. Ravichandran Ashwin was the lone spinner and he took five wickets in the game. Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav formed the pace attack. Shami was the most successful bowler in that game with six wickets.
All four bowlers are actively playing Test cricket for India and are part of the Indian squad for the ongoing South Africa series. Sharma and Yadav only play red-ball cricket for India now, while Shami and Ashwin are members of the white-ball squads as well.