The former legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was seen shaking hands with former captain Virat Kohli in the dressing room on the fifth day of the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane during the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 before walking into a press conference with current leader Rohit Sharma to declare his international retirement.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement was shocking to many Indian fans and former players, as the veteran was still doing well with the red ball. But a dry series at home against New Zealand, which saw him contribute just nine scalps in six innings at 41.22, resulted in him hanging up his shoes.
The Chennai-born immediately left the Indian camp and returned home the next morning. With 537 Test scalps in 106 games at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 50 with the help of 37 five-wicket hauls and 25 four-wicket hauls with the best bowling figure of 7/59, he finished as the second leading wicket-taker in the longest format for India after Anil Kumble.
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The decision of Ravichandran Ashwin pushed India to call young Tanush Kotian to join the squad, while the team management decided to go with a spin twin of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar for the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.
Ravichandran Ashwin is not interested in playing a farewell match for India
The former World Cup-winning Indian captain, Kapil Dev, was surprised at the decision of the 38-year-old in the middle of the series, as he felt that Ashwin should have waited till the end of the fifth New Year’s Test at the SCG to take a call, but praised his contribution to Indian cricket.
“Ravichandran Ashwin is a very strong-headed guy. It’s good to see such characters in cricketers. I felt a little sad when he left in the middle of the tour. He was a great cricketer, India has produced and served the game so well, but he should have waited and done it differently. Nevertheless, what he did for the country is unbelievable,” Dev expressed during a recent interaction on Gulf News.
The Chennai Super Kings’ spinner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 11th leading wicket-taker in international cricket, second amongst the Indians, with the help of 765 wickets in 379 innings at an average of 25.80 and a strike rate of around 45.7, shouldering on 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-wicket hauls.
Along with Kapil, the former opening batter of India, Sunil Gavaskar, was also disappointed with Ravichandran Ashwin’s act. Manoj Tiwary went a step ahead to claim that the senior bowler was ‘insulted’ while the former bowling coach, Bharat Arun, explained that the spinner was ‘hurt.’
Recently, Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on the speculations of his retirement and what the reaction of the dressing room and the team management was at that time.
“I think a lot. What to do in life? You all need to understand that this happens instinctively. If someone gets to know that their job is done, once that thinking comes, there is nothing to think about. People said a lot of things. I don’t think it is a big deal.” The 38-year-old addressed.
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“You think what happened? I did not play the first Test. I played the second but did not play the third. It was possible I could play the next or not play the next. This is a side of my creativity, and I was looking to explore it. At that time, I felt my creativity was over, so it was over. It was simple.” Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted.
Many reckoned that the Champions Trophy and World Cup winner should have been awarded a farewell Test match, but the spinner pointed out that he had not wanted to play such games where he didn’t deserve a place.
“What difference will this make if I came out with the ball and people are clapping? How long will people talk about it? When social media was not there, people talked about it and forgot after one week. There is no need for a farewell.” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.