India’s premier off-spinner R Ashwin on Wednesday surprised the cricketing world by announcing his retirement with immediate effect in the middle of the Test series against Australia. (PTI)
The decision from Ravichandran Ashwin to announce retirement may have come out of the blue, but it was a move that had been long coming. The talk first surfaced during the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in 2023, but when another showdown came calling, Ashwin seems to have made up his mind particularly because of his knee that has been causing trouble of late.
It is understood that even before Ashwin boarded the flight to Australia for the Test series he informed his family that he is contemplating retirement from international cricket. While no decision was made then, he was told by his family to think it through and Ashwin is learnt to have informed that he would take a call after how it goes in Australia. And on Tuesday night, he informed his family that December 18 would be his last day in international cricket.
As skipper Rohit Sharma said when he landed in Perth, Ashwin had a long conversation about quitting before playing the second Test at Adelaide. He was also in contention to play the Brisbane Test, but Ravindra Jadeja was preferred. It is understood that at the Gabba, Ashwin informed each player separately about his decision to quit in the middle of the series, which was received with shock. Though Ashwin stood a chance of playing at Melbourne and Sydney, the decision also seems to have been taken keeping in mind where the team is headed at the moment.
Ravichandran Ashwin retires as arguably India’s greatest match-winner at home. (Sportzpics)
Jadeja had a good outing at Brisbane and in Washington Sundar, India have another off-spinner who seems ready to take over from Ashwin, although he is entirely different.
Couple of years left in him
At 38, when the Test season began with the home series against Bangladesh – where he picked up the Man of the Series award – Ashwin still seemed to have at least a couple of years left in him. But with India not having any immediate red-ball commitments and not being a sure starter overseas and his knee continuing to trouble, Ashwin decided to call it a day a good 18 months after considering retirement for the first time.
Ashwin is scheduled to return home on Thursday and as he revealed there is a strong chance he would still play in domestic tournaments. In the past he has revealed that winning the Ranji Trophy is a dream waiting to be fulfilled and with Tamil Nadu still in the hunt for play-offs, there is a chance he could don the whites. If not the IPL, where he would rejoin the Chennai Super Kings, could well turn out to be the grand farewell.
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