Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally broke his silence on announcing his international retirement midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December 2024. The off-spinner bid adieu to international cricket following the conclusion of the third Test against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane. Speaking on the 'Mike Testing 1, 2, 3' podcast alongside Michael Hussey, Ashwin stated that he wanted to retire after the Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, where he scored a century and picked up a six-wicket haul.
He also revealed that he had been thinking about retirement for a long time and deliberated on ending his international career following his 100th Test (against England in Dharamsala).
Ashwin is India's second-highest wicket-taker across all formats of the game. He has 537 Test wickets to his name, including 37 five-wicket hauls. The CSK spinner's retirement from international cricket shocked one and all, as many believed he had several years left in him.
“To be very honest, I wanted to do it after my 100th Test. And then I thought, Ok, let me give it a go in the home season. Because, I mean, you’re playing well, and you’re getting wickets, you’re making runs," Ashwin told CSK batting coach Michael Hussey in the podcast.
"I thought it does make sense to play a bit. I was having a lot of fun, but the whole hard yards that I had to put through to put myself in the park again, physically and mentally, one of the most important things that was pulling me down was the family time," he added.
'When I didn't start in Perth'
{{/usCountry}}"I thought it does make sense to play a bit. I was having a lot of fun, but the whole hard yards that I had to put through to put myself in the park again, physically and mentally, one of the most important things that was pulling me down was the family time," he added.
'When I didn't start in Perth'
{{/usCountry}}Ashwin then spoke further about not playing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth against Australia and how it took an emotional toll on him. For the uninitiated, Washington Sundar was preferred ahead of Ashwin for the Test match in Perth, which India won under the leadership of Jasprit Bumrah.
"I thought I’d probably close off with the Chennai Test here. I ended up getting a six-wicket haul and a hundred. So it’s very tough to quit when you’re doing very well. So, I went on with the series, and we lost against New Zealand. So, one after the other, it was just building up. And then I thought, okay, let me go to Australia. Let me see how this goes. Because the last time I was in Australia, I had a great, great tour," said Ashwin.
"And when I didn’t start in Perth, it was like, okay, this whole circle keeps going again. People add very little value to what you’re going through emotionally. They don’t really consider that because your emotions are yours, and it doesn’t matter to anybody else. So I had been contemplating that, and then I thought, okay, maybe it is time," he added.
Ashwin is currently a part of the CSK setup in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). After a string of underwhelming performances, the spinner was dropped from the playing XI.
CSK are currently at the bottom of the points table with just 2 points from 9 matches. The team will next take on Punjab Kings on Wednesday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.