Podcast; Yorked episode 4: As retirement talk over MS Dhoni looms, what makes decision to quit international sport so vexing?

In fourth episode of Yorked, a Firstpost cricket podcast, we stick our necks out and discuss the dreaded R-word: How do cricketers pencil in on retirement?

We know goodbyes can be extremely emotional, all the more for international sportspersons, because for most of them, their job – play their sport – has been the only thing they have known for all their life and coming to terms with its end can be very stressful.

One of India’s most celebrated and certainly the most scrutinised cricketer, MS Dhoni, at 38, is now considered on the last legs of his illustrious international career.

Dhoni, who for years now has been an embodiment of calm and composure on the field, is confronting the inevitable query of retirement.

The man who led India to two World Cup triumphs is – as things stand – no longer a part of selectors’ scheme of things. Nobody knows what’s next in store for Dhoni, giving rise to a lot of conjecture. His retirement has been one of the most divisive topics off late and to explore more on the same, noted cricket journalists Ayaz Memon and Gaurav Kalra once again join us on Yorked.

In this episode they address – What makes it so hard for an international sportsperson to walk away from sport? What triggers the thought of retirement and why it is the most vexing decisions of all?