Courtesy: BCCI/X
Ravichandran Ashwin, arguably one of the best off-spinners in the world, announced his retirement from international cricket on 18 December during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. The 38-year-old received a lot of tribute messages from all around the world from his fans, teammates, and ex-cricketers. One of his India teammates, Virat Kohli also wrote a tribute for Ravichandran Ashwin on X, calling him the “legend of Indian cricket.”
In his reply, Ashwin thanked Kohli and reminded fans of their iconic partnership during India versus Pakistan clash in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, where the world witnessed Kohli's brilliance and Ashwin's composure, leading India to a thrilling four-wicket win.
You will always be remembered as a legend of Indian cricket: Kohli comments on Ashwin
It was on December 18 when Virat Kohli wrote an emotional tweet for Ravichandran Ashiwn after his sudden retirement from international cricket, in which he said, “I’ve played with you for 14 years and when you told me today you’re retiring, it made me a bit emotional, and the flashbacks of all those years playing together came to me. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey with you ash, your skill and match winning contributions to Indian cricket are second to none and you will always and always be remembered as a legend of Indian cricket. Wish you nothing but the best in your life with your family and everything else that it unfolds for you. With massive respect and lots of love to you and your close ones. Thanks for everything buddy”.
After a couple of days, Ravichandran Ashwin replied to Virat Kohli, “Thanks buddy! Like I told you, I will be walking out with you to bat at the MCG”. Notably, the off-spinner was one of the key contributors to India’s dominance in the home Test series over the years. He played 106 Tests for India and took 537 wickets, including 37 fifers. Ashwin also contributed with the bat, scoring 3,503 runs, including 6 centuries.
Ashwin-Kohli’s iconic MCG 2022 memories
Chasing the target of 160 in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 clash, India lost some early wickets of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Axar Patel. Kohli controlled the inning in his style by playing with singles and doubles. He built a good partnership with Hardik Pandya, but the target was still too far, and then Virat hit unforgettable two back-to-back sixes versus Haris Rauf in the last two deliveries of the 19th over, to bring back India into the game.
However, the drama continued in the 20th over when Pandya got out on the first ball and DK was stumped. India needed two runs from the last ball, and Ashwin showed his calmness by letting the ball go down the leg side, which was called a wide, to help level the score. That leave became one of the most iconic moments for Indian fans. On the last ball, Ashwin hit it over the mid-off fielder for a single, securing the big win.
