Ravichandran Ashwin’s decision to retire may have come suddenly, but it was a move that was long overdue. It was discussed during the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy to be held on home grounds in 2023, but when another controversy came up, Ashwin made up his mind, especially because of his knee which has been causing trouble for some time now.
It is being discussed that recently when Ashwin was about to fly to Australia for the Test series, he told his family that he was thinking of retiring from international cricket. Although no decision was made at that time, his family asked him to think about it and it is learned that Ashwin told that he will take a decision on it after whatever happens in Australia. And on Tuesday night, he told his family that December 18 will be his last day in international cricket.
As captain Rohit Sharma said on landing in Perth, Ashwin had recently had a long discussion about stopping him from playing the second Test in Adelaide. He was also in contention to play the Brisbane Test, but Ravindra Jadeja was preferred. It is being discussed that at the Gabba, Ashwin told each player separately whether they wanted to stay or not in the middle of the match, which was shocking. Though Ashwin had the chance to play in Melbourne and Sydney, it seems that this decision has been taken keeping in mind the current situation of the team.
Jadeja performed brilliantly in Brisbane and in Washington Sundar, India have another offspinner who is ready to replace Ashwin, albeit in a completely different role.
At 38, when the Test season started with the home series against Bangladesh – where he won the Man of the Series award – Ashwin still looked at least two years short. But with no red-ball commitments for India and not a certain starter overseas and his knee troubles continuing, Ashwin decided to have a wonderful 18 months after first thinking about retiring. Ashwin is due to return home on Thursday and as he has found out, he is likely to play in domestic tournaments. In the past he has found that winning the Ranji Trophy is a dream and Tamil Nadu is still in the playoff race, so he is likely to wear the white jersey. If that doesn’t happen, the IPL, where he will join Chennai Super Kings, could prove to be a great farewell for him.