Brisbane, Dec 18: 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 here despite having a “bit of punch left” in him.
Ashwin retires from the game as the second highest wicket-taker for India in Tests with 537 scalps in 106 games, placing him only behind the great Anil Kumble (619 wickets) in the overall statistics.He will continue to play club cricket, including the IPL, where he will return to play for Chennai Super Kings next year.
“I won’t take too much of your time. Today will be the last day for me as an India cricketer in all formats,” Ashwin said at the end of the drawn third Test here in a joint press conference with captain Rohit Sharma during which he declined to take any questions and left after making the announcement.
Ashwin, who would be headed back to India on Thursday, was seen sharing an emotional moment with star batter Virat Kohli in the dressing room hours before the announcement, sending social media into a frenzy.
The 38-year-old played the day-night Test in Adelaide and picked up one wicket. He not being a sure starter in the playing eleven over the course of the three Tests prompted him to think about his future in the team and eventually call time on a remarkable career.
Ashwin was not just the master of his craft, he was also considered one of the brightest minds in world cricket.The Chennai-based bowler, who holds an engineering degree, usually does well to hide his emotions but sitting alongside longtime teammate Rohit, Ashwin left the stage for the fear of getting overawed by the occasion. “If I am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game,” R Ashwin told India skipper Rohit Sharma before his surprise international retirement, refusing to let anyone else write his script after 14 years of service to the game.
“I do feel there is bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to showcase that in club level cricket. I have had a lot of fun. I must I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates,” he said.
“I have lost some of them over the last few years (in the team). We are the last bunch of OG’s left in the dressing room. I would be marking this as my date of having played at this level,” he said, referring to the likes of the currently out of favour Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. (PTI)
