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Ashwin played his last match against Australia on 6 December this month.
If I am not needed in the series right now then it would be better if I say goodbye to the game.
This is what Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had said to captain Rohit Sharma before his shocking retirement decision. News agency PTI has made this claim quoting sources. Ashwin, who played cricket for India for 14 years, was planning to retire since the series loss to New Zealand.
According to the report, he had clearly told the team management that if he does not get a place in the playing eleven of the series against Australia, then he will not travel with the team.
I convinced him to stay in the team till the pink ball test: Rohit Ashwin took 9 wickets in the 3 matches of the series against the Kiwis, including two turning tracks (Mumbai and Pune). Whereas Sundar had taken 16 wickets in just 2 matches. Rohit was not present in the first test of the series. After which coach Gautam Gambhir finalized India’s playing eleven. In which the name of India’s number-1 spinner was not there.
What Rohit said in today’s press conference proves that Ashwin was not happy with the playing eleven of the Perth Test. The Indian captain said, when I came to Perth, Ashwin told me about his retirement. I convinced him to remain in the team till the pink ball test. He felt that he was no longer needed in the series.
It is important when a player like Ashwin, who has spent a lot of time with the Indian team and is a match-winner for us, is given the freedom to take such a decision.
My last day as an Indian team cricketer: Ashwin 38-year-old Ashwin announced his retirement as soon as the Gaba Test was over. He reached the press conference with captain Rohit Sharma and said, I will not take much of your time. Today was my last day as a cricketer of the Indian team. I feel that I still have punch left in me as a cricketer, but I will show this in club cricket. But this was my last day as an international cricketer.
He said, I enjoyed a lot during my career, I have a lot of memories with Rohit and other teammates. I have many people to thank. I thank BCCI, my teammates and all the coaches.
R Ashwin made his debut in international cricket in 2010.
2 reasons for Ashwin to take retirement
- After taking 537 Test wickets at the age of 38, Ashwin did not want to sit in the dressing room wearing a fluorescent (green extra player jersey). He had planned to retire after the series loss to New Zealand.
- Team management giving priority to Washington Sundar before Ashwin in Perth Test. This explains why he retired before the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series. Ashwin, a smart cricketer in international cricket, had probably guessed that the team was thinking about a young player.
India changed 3 spinners in 3 tests India gave opportunity to 3 different spinners in the first 3 tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Washington Sundar was played in place of Ashwin in the Perth Test. Later, after the return of captain Rohit Sharma, Ashwin played the pink-ball test. Whereas left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja got a chance in the Gabba Test.
A BCCI source told PTI, Ashwin is a legendary cricketer of India, he has the right to take his own decisions. The selection committee has nothing to do with this. India will probably not take more than two spinners and all-rounders in the Test series against England in June-July next year.
Who is the next spinner after Ashwin? India currently has the first name among off-spin all-rounders of Washington Sundar. Who took 16 wickets in 2 test matches played against New Zealand. India’s spin department is about to go through a transition phase. The next cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) will start from 2025 and run till 2027. In such a situation, the selection committee still has time to do new experiments. The team has an option available in domestic cricket in the form of Mumbai’s Tanush Kotian.
Ashwin could retire after the series Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the Chennai player should have waited for the completion of this series before retiring. Harbhajan said, numbers do not lie. Ashwin’s record is excellent. According to me, he should have played the last two Test matches, but this is his individual decision.
After Dhoni’s decision, there was a shortage of Indian wicketkeeper batsman. A similar decision of retirement was taken by former Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He announced his retirement after the third Melbourne Test of the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Since then, India was missing a wicketkeeper batsman for a few years.
India definitely has two spinners in the remaining matches of the series against Australia, but in both SENA countries, Ashwin is a more capable batsman than a good spinner. In such a situation, India may miss Ashwin in the match to be held in Sydney.
Dhoni had announced his retirement in the middle of the 2014 Border-Gavaskar series.