Following the Brisbane Test, 38-year-old Indian off-spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin declared his retirement from international cricket. He finished his remarkable career as India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 765 wickets in all forms, including 537 Test wickets. Ashwin closed a chapter in Indian cricket history by thanking his teammates and the BCCI.
Shortly after the Brisbane Test finished in a tie, India’s legendary off-spin player Ravichandran Ashwin declared his intention to retire from international cricket.
The all-rounder made his decision public during the post-match press conference alongside Rohit Sharma, the captain of India.
The 38-year-old was succinct when declaring that Wednesday will be his final day playing cricket for his country.
I don’t wish to focus on myself. My time as an international cricket player is coming to an end. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself. Despite the fact that we have lost several of our teammates [to retirements] in recent years, I have created many memories with Rohit [Sharma] and a number of my teammates. We can say that we are the last group of originals. During the press conference held after the game, Ashwin declared, “I will mark this as my date of having played at this level.”
There are many individuals to thank, of course, but if I don’t thank the BCCI and my teammates, I will be failing in my responsibilities. I would like to mention a handful of them, as well as some of the coaches who have contributed to the voyage. The people who have taken some of the catches around the bat and given me the number of wickets I’ve been able to get over the years are Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], and [Cheteshwar] Pujara, he continued.
Ashwin’s illustrious career
The Tamil Nadu bowler had an outstanding ten-year career. In all three formats, he left a lasting effect. By refining the conventional variants and incorporating some of his own, Ashwin revolutionized the off-spin technique. Over the course of his career, the spinner changed who he was.
He played in 106 Test matches after making his Test debut against the West Indies in 2011. He took 537 wickets, including 37 five-wicket hauls, and scored 3,503 runs.
Ashwin, who has a degree in engineering, frequently outwitted hitters with his cunning. After the great spinner Anil Kumble (619 scalps), he is the second-highest wicket-taker for India and the seventh-highest in Test cricket altogether. Additionally, he trails only Muralitharan(67) in the number of five-wicket hauls in Test matches.
Ashwin made his white-ball debut in 2010 and took 228 wickets in 181 limited-over games. With top figures of 4/25, he captured 156 wickets at an average of 33.20 in 116 ODI games. In 63 innings, he scored 65 runs, including one fifty, and amassed 707 runs at an average of 16.44. He is now India’s 13th-highest wicket-taker in ODIs.
He claimed 72 wickets at an average of 23.22 in 65 Twenty20 Internationals. 4/8 are his greatest numbers. In 19 innings, he amassed 184 runs at an average of 26.28, with a peak score of 31. In Twenty20 Internationals, he is India’s sixth-highest wicket-taker.
After Kumble (953), he is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in all forms with 765 scalps in 287 games. Along with India, he won the 2013 Champions Trophy and the 2011 50-Over World Cup.
A legacy is left by Ashwin
In addition to leaving a legacy, the 38-year-old has enormous empty boots to fill. Ashwin led the bowling attack and played a significant role in India’s ascent to the top and subsequent dominance in Test cricket between 2014 and 2019.
He was a phenomenon when one considers his dominance in the family environment. His skill set extended beyond the ball; he also made some significant contributions with the bat.
Ashwin played for the 2011 ODI World Cup winning squad, and he also appeared in T20 World Cups from 2012-2022.