India’s Ravichandran Ashwin shows the ball as he celebrates with teammates after taking 5 wickets on the fourth day of the first Test cricket match between India and Bangladesh at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. (File/PTI)
A day after calling time on his storied India career, Ravichandran Ashwin had a message for his fans: I’m not done with cricket yet.
Speaking to media after reaching Chennai on Thursday morning, the India legend reiterated that he will continue to play for the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.
“I am going to play for CSK. Don’t be surprised if I try and aspire to play for as long as I can. I don’t think Ashwin the cricketer is done, I think Ashwin the Indian cricketer has probably called it time. That’s it,” Ashwin said.
When asked if announcing retirement was a difficult decision, Ashwin said, “It’s not. It’s emotional for a lot of people. It will be emotional, maybe it will sink in. But for me, it’s a great sense of relief and satisfaction…It had been running in my head for a while but it was very instinctive. I felt it on day 4 and called it on day 5…”
READ MORE: Top 15 Records by R Ashwin in International Cricket: A breakdown of spinner’s career in numbers
The spinner called time on his career on Wednesday right after the third India vs Australia Test match ended in a draw. Ashwin’s decision to retire in the middle of the series, with two Tests remaining did raise some eyebrows. Especially, since the fifth Test would favour spinners.
In the three Tests in Australia, he only played in one Test. He retired from Indian cricket team with 537 Test scalps to his name. His Test wicket tally is the second-highest for India, only behind Anil Kumble’s 619.
Remarkably, the spinner has recorded a hundred and a five-wicket haul in a Test on four occasions, only bettered by England cricket legend Ian Botham, who had five such games.
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