R Ashwin has retired from international cricket with immediate effect, announcing his decision at the end of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Brisbane. He will be leaving for India on Thursday.
“This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level,” Ashwin said after the Brisbane Test at a press conference. “I do feel there’s a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to express that and probably showcase that in club-level cricket, but this will be the last day [for India].
“I’ve had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit [Sharma] and several of my other team-mates, even though I have lost some of them [to retirements] over the last few years. We’re the last bunch of OGs, if we can say that, left out in the dressing room, and . I will be marking this as my date of having played at this level.
“Obviously there are a lot of people to thank, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn’t thank the BCCI and the fellow team-mates. Several of them. I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been part of the journey. Most importantly, Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], [Cheteshwar] Pujara, who have taken those splendid catches around the bat to give me the number of wickets I’ve managed to get over the years.
“Also a big thank you to the Australian cricket team, who have been very fierce competitors. I have enjoyed my time playing against them.”
Saying that he wouldn’t be taking any questions from the media and was there just to make the news public, Ashwin said, “Truly a very emotional moment. I don’t think I am in a position where I would be answering the questions in the right way. Please pardon me for that. Thanks for being the journalists you’ve been, writing good things and of course writing nasty things on occasions.”
Rohit, sitting alongside Ashwin as the latter made his announcement for the press, said, “Some decisions are very personal and I don’t think too many questions should be asked or raised. If a player has [made] a choice, he has to be given that choice, and somebody like Ashwin who has been there for us for so many years is allowed to make those kind of decisions on his own and we as team-mates have to respect it. He was very sure about what he wanted to do and the team has complete backing of his thought process.
“Obviously, there’s a bit of gap now so for us, as a team, to regroup and collect our thoughts on this is very very crucial right now. We’ve got some time to think about how we need to proceed further. But speaking about Ash, he was very very sure about his decision.”
Ashwin ends his Test career as India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format, with 537 wickets at an average of 24 in 106 Tests, only behind Anil Kumble, who finished with 619 wickets from 132 Tests.
He played only one of the first three Tests of the ongoing series in Australia, taking 1 for 53 in the day-night fixture in Adelaide. In the previous series, the 3-0 defeat at home to New Zealand, Ashwin had picked up only nine wickets at an average of 41.22.
With him not being a regular in the XI in India’s overseas fixtures, and their next Test series an away tour of England, Ashwin will be 39 by the time India’s next home season comes around.
In addition to his wickets, Ashwin also scored 3503 Test runs with six hundreds and 14 fifties, making him one of 11 allrounders with more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets. He also won a record 11 Player-of-the-Series awards, level with Muthiah Muralidaran.
More to follow…
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