Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s premier off-spinner, has announced his retirement from international cricket, bowing out of the game as the country’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests. Ashwin, 38, informed about his decision shortly after India drew the 3rd Gabba Test against Australia in Brisbane, bringing down curtains on a legendary 13-year-long career for India. With 537 wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin is next only to the legendary Anil Kumble’s tally of 619. He will be heading back home to India tomorrow.
This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level. I do feel that there’s a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to explore it and showcase that at club-level cricket. But this will be my last day. It’s been a lot of fun. I must say I’ve created a lot of memories with Rohit and several of my other teammates. Even though I have lost some of them over the last few years, we are the last bunch of OGs, if you can say that. Left out in the dressing room, and I will be marking this as my date of having played at this level,” Ashwin said during India’s post-match press conference.
“Obviously, there are a lot of people to thank. But I will be failing in my duties if I didn’t thank the BCCI and my fellow teammates. I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been part of my journey, and Rohit, Virat, Ajinkya [Rahane], [Cheteshwar] Pujara, who have taken those catches around the bat and given my number of wickets I’ve managed to get over the years.”
Speculations about R Ashwin’s future gained steam when, during the rain interval on Day 5, the cameras captured Virat Kohli hugging an emotional Ashwin. Something was definitely brewing – Ashwin was also spotted spending time with his Australian counterpart Nathan Lyon. On a live broadcast, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar pretty much confirmed Ashwin’s retirement, which turned true a couple of hours later.
Ashwin’s retirement comes in the middle of the India vs Australia Test series. He played just one Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was named in the playing XI for the second Test in Adelaide, which Australia won by ten wickets. In the match, Ashwin took just one wicket and recorded scores of 22 and 7. Ashwin has long served Indian cricket and is inarguably one of the greatest off-spinners the country has ever produced. He played 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is for India, taking 765 wickets across all formats.
In Tests, Ashwin has picked his wickets at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 50.7; he also has 37 five-wicket hauls. The list of accomplishments doesn’t just end there. Ashwin goes out as the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Tests and is currently the highest-taking bowler among off-spinners in Tests; however, Nathan Lyon will eventually surpass his record.
Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies. However, his international debut came a year before when he was named in the ODI playing XI for a match against Sri Lanka. Ashwin burst onto the scene when he played alongside MS Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. The World Cup-winning captain brought out the best in Ashwin, often entrusting him with the new ball inside the Powerplay.
The spinner did not disappoint, as Ashwin often dismissed the likes of Chris Gayle in the powerplay. Grooming Ashwin in the IPL paved the way for Dhoni to unleash the bowler in international cricket, and there has been no looking back ever since then. Ashwin came to his own in 2011 and was part of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning campaign and 2013 Champions Trophy wins.
Despite not doing too badly in limited-overs, Test matches are where Ashwin made a mark, making him pretty much irreplaceable. He made the opposition batters dance to his tunes, especially in India. Ashwin also enjoys a phenomenal record against left-handed batters. Of all his Test wickets, 383 have come in India at an average of 21.57. Despite being a modern-day great, Ashwin was often benched when India played overseas. Ashwin played 26 Tests in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia).
Ashwin also proved to be a gritty customer with the bat in hand, scoring six centuries and 10 half-centuries in Tests. In 106 matches, he scored 3503 runs at an average of 25.75. He also recently scored a century against Bangladesh, and of course, who can forget the sight of Ashwin batting with a bad back with Hanuma Vihari (down with a torn hamstring) and salvaging a draw for India in the iconic SCG Test four years ago.
Ashwin bows out of the international arena, truly being a great of the game. He will next return to action in the IPL 2025, where he will return to play for the Chennai Super Kings, after being bought by the franchise during last month’s mega-auction.
