Mahendra Singh Dhoni last played for India in the ODI World Cup semi-final against New Zealand in July. (PTI)

With MS Dhoni ending the debate on his international future, several cricketers are taking to social media to pay tribute to the cricketing legend. Dhoni’s former teammate and India spinner R Ashwin also did the same and released a video on his YouTube channel “Reminisce with Ash”.

In this video, Ashwin spoke about the moment when Dhoni had called quits from the traditional format of the game in Australia. Dhoni, who is also known as ‘Captain Cool’, failed to remain calm and Ashwin along with Suresh Raina and Ishant Sharma saw the wicketkeeper-batsman in tears after his decision.

“I remember when he retired from Test cricket in 2014, I was batting with him to save the match in Melbourne,” said Ashwin.

“But once we lost, he simply picked up a stump and walked off saying he’s done. It was quite an emotional moment for him. Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina and I were sitting in his room that evening. He was still wearing his Test match jersey through the entire night and he shed a few tears as well.”

Ashwin also noted that after playing with Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings, he realised his leadership skills.

“I first met him as a net bowler during an India-West Indies ODI at Chepauk. And then when I joined Chennai Super Kings in 2008, I got to work with him and learn a lot. He had that long hair when I met him earlier but then after spending time with him at CSK I realised what a mature leader he was,” he said.

Ashwin also shared that Dhoni had given him a healthy advice early on in his career and how he follows it to date.

“During the 2010 Champions League, he taught me a very important lesson. I bowled the Super Over against the Victoria Bushrangers [CSK lost the game] and MS came up to me and said, ‘you didn’t bowl your best ball under pressure. You’ve got the carrom ball and you need to use it a lot more’.

“And that’s something he always maintained with respect to me. He said I was very, very innovative and skillful and I must keep sharpening this aspect of my game. This advice stuck with me and I follow it to date,” said Ashwin.