Leaves as second highest wicket taker in Tests among Indian bowlers, world’s fourth highest among spin bowlers
Finds place among 11 allrounders in the world with more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Test matches
Won a record 11 Player-of-the-Series awards, sharing the honour with Muttiah Muralidaran
At a time when the future of Indian batting greats Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the team in the wake of their continuing string of poor performances was a subject of intense speculation in the public domain, comes a surprise announcement.
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One of the world’s bowling greats, Ravichandran Ashwin has drawn curtains on his international career spanning 15 years with immediate effect in the middle of the ongoing 5-match Test series between India and Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
He made his decision public while accompanying captain Rohit Sharma to the post match press conference after the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane was declared drawn prematurely due to incessant rain on the final day, Wednesday.
Ashwin, who found a place in the Indian playing XI only in the second of the first three Test matches of the ongoing series – the pink ball day-and-night fixture in Adelaide – taking 1 for 53, said: “This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level. I do feel there’s a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to express that and probably showcase that in club-level cricket, but this will be the last day (for India).”
With India fielding three different spinners in the first three Tests, 38-year-old Ashwin, the second highest wicket-taker for India in Tests and the fourth highest among spin bowlers worldwide, who is reported to have been contemplating retirement back in 2021 due to a troublesome knee, apparently must have felt it was the right time to quit instead of just hanging around.
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India’s next Test engagement after this series is in July, when they travel to England for a five-Test series. The last time Ashwin played a Test match in England was in the 2021 World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton. Before that it was in 2018. During the 2021 England tour, prior to the WTC final, too Ashwin did not feature in India’s playing XI in any of the five Tests.
He is understood to be leaving for India on Thursday.
Ashwin’s achievements
As mentioned earlier, Ashwin is the second highest wicket taker among Indian bowlers (with 537 scalps in 106 games at an average of 24), only behind Anil Kumble (619 wickets in 132 games). He is also the fourth highest Test wicket taker among spin bowlers worldwide, behind Muttiah Muralidaran (800), Shane Warne (708), and Anil Kumle (619). Ace Aussie off spinner Nathan Lyon (533) trails him by just four wickets in fifth place.
His Test record in SENA nations (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) taking 72 wickets from 26 Tests, is however, a far cry as compared to his performances at home, where he took 383 wickets in 65 matches.
As one of the 11 allrounders in the world with more than 3000 runs and 300 wickets, Ashwin scored 3503 Test runs with six hundreds and 14 fifties. He also won a record 11 Player-of-the-Series awards, sharing the honour with Muttiah Muralidaran.
Starting his international career in 2010, Ashwin was part of the Indian team that won the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy (ODI) in 2013. He played 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is, picking up 156 (average of 33.20) and 72 (economy rate of 6.90) wickets in the two formats respectively.
Tributes poured in from teammates and opposition players alike.
Some of these messages on social media are reproduced below
BCCI (sharing info of his retirement)
“Thank you Ashwin
A name synonymous with mastery, wizardry, brilliance, and innovation
The ace spinner and #TeamIndia’s invaluable all-rounder announces his retirement from international cricket.
Congratulations on a legendary career, @ashwinravi99”
Cricket Australia (sharing info of his retirement)
“One of the all-time greats
Ashwin calls time.”
Sachin Tendulkar
“500 Test wickets for a one-in-a-million bowler!
In AshWIN the SpinNER, there was always a WINNER. 500 wickets is a huge milestone in Test cricket.
Congratulations, Champion!”
Virat Kohli
“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 …..”
Dinesh Karthik
“a GOAT retires
Well done on what’s been an outstanding career. Proud to have played with you, and definitely the greatest ever to have played from TAMILNADU…..”
Ravi Shastri
“Hey Ash, congratulations on a magnificent career, old boy. You were an invaluable asset during my tenure as coach and enriched the game immensely with your skill and craft…..”
Herschelle Gibbs
“Only one on the list with 6 test 100s” (sharing the comment with the list of top five among the highest wicket takers in Test cricket)
Harbhajan Singh
“Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on a phenomenal cricket career. Your ambition as a test cricketer was admirable. Well done for being the flag bearer of Indian spin for more than a decade….”
Anil Kumble
“@ashwinravi99, your journey has been nothing short of extraordinary! With over 700 international wickets and a keen cricketing mind, you are one of the finest to have graced the field. Congratulations on a stellar career….”
Ian Raphael Bishop
“Thank you Ravi Ashwin. Glad you came, and that you were a part of the international game for so long, with such excellence. You taught, you educated and you entertained.”
Gautam Gambhir
“The privilege of seeing you grow from a young bowler to a legend of modern cricket is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world! I know that generations of bowlers to come will say that I became a bowler coz of Ashwin!…..”
Mohammad Kaif
“Sharpest cricketing brain and very skilled bowler. For me R Ashwin is the greatest Indian off-spinner, true Test all-rounder and a modern day great. Somehow I feel he deserved a much better farewell. @ashwinravi99”
Ajinkya Rahane
“Congratulations on an incredible journey, @ashwinravi99! Standing at slip was never a dull moment with you bowling, every ball felt like a chance waiting to happen…..”
