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On Wednesday, December 18, India’s spinning wizard Ravichandran Ashwin dropped a shockbomb on fans and pundits alike as he announced his retirement from international cricket. The spinner made the announcement after the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Brisbane ended in a draw. With this, Ashwin called time on his glorious 13-year-long career with team India, and stepped down as the second highest wicket-taker in Tests only behind legendary Anil Kumble.
While announcing his retirement during the post-match press conference alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, Ashwin hailed him and his teammates as the last OGs of the Indian dressing room. Ashwin announced, “This will be my last year as an Indian cricketer at the international level. There's a bit left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to exploit it at the domestic and club-level cricket, but this would be the last day (at the international level). I have had a lot of fun, a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates. We've lost some of them over the last few years, we've been the last bunch of OGs I can say that are left out in the dressing room. I can mark this as my last day in the dressing room.”
He was very sure about what he wanted to do: Rohit Sharma on Ashwin announcing retirement
As Ashwin announced his retirement, Rohit Sharma reacted to his decision and said, "He was very sure about what he wanted to do. The team has complete backing of his thought process. Obviously, there is a bit of a gap now. For us as a team to regroup and collect our thoughts on this is very crucial right now. We have got some time in between so we can think about how we need to proceed further. Speaking about Ash, he was very sure about this decision."
He added, “It is important when a player like him, who has had so many moments with the Indian team, and he has been a truly big match winner for us, he is allowed to make those decisions on his own. If it was now, so be it.”
