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Gambhir responds to R Ashwin’s retirement decision, pays tribute with huge prediction: ‘Generations of bowlers will…’
R Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket, after the third Test match between India and Australia.
After India’s draw vs Australia in the Brisbane Test, Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his retirement from international cricket, on Wednesday. Ashwin didn’t feature in the match, and was also in the bench for the first Test match in Perth of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Captain Rohit Sharma’s return from paternity leave saw him return to the playing XI for the second Test in Adelaide, and it was a pink-ball affair, but India lost the match by 10 wickets.
Taking to X, India head coach Gautam Gambhir responded to Ashwin’s retirement announcement, and hailed his impact. “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! U will be missed brother! @ashwinravi99,” Gambhir wrote.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin retires from international cricket, bows out as India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests
The third Test ended as a draw due to rain on the final. After the match, the veteran spinner joined captain Rohit in the press conference. Ashwin said, “I won’t take too much of your time. Today will be the last day for me as an India cricketer.”
Glittering career
Ashwin ends his career with 537 Test wickets, which makes him the seventh-highest wicket-taker in the format. Among Indian bowlers, he is second after Anil Kumble’s 619 wickets in Tests. Meanwhile, Ashwin has taken 765 wickets across formats, which is only bettered by Kumble’s 953.
During his glittering career, Ashwin has also taken 37 five-wicket hauls in 106 Test matches, and it is the joint-second most in the format, alongwith Shane Warne, who did it in 145 fixtures. Ashwin is behind Muttiah Muralitharan in the list, who has taken 67 five-wicket hauls. Also Ashwin’s strike rate of 50/7 balls per wicket slots him in the top-ten among the 84 bowlers who have taken at least 200 Test wickets. He is the only spinner in the top-25, with Stuart MacGill the closest, at 29th.
