In Brisbane rain, an Ashwin googly…’My last day as an Indian cricketer’: Spin stalwart R Ashwin chooses drawn Test to call end on a storied career
BRISBANE: India’s campaign in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was jolted by the shock retirement of spin stalwart Ravichandran Ashwin in the middle of the series here on Wednesday.
With a couple of senior players in the sunset of their careers, the team has been staring at the difficult issue of transition for a while now. The process was eventually kickstarted in surprising manner here on a bleak day, even as rain pelted the ground and the third Test against Australia was drawn on the last day.
The off-spinning allrounder walked in alongside captain Rohit Sharma after the game to announce his immediate retirement from all forms of international cricket at the age of 38. Ashwin will leave the team and depart for home on Thursday, captain Rohit Sharma said, with many left wondering at the manner of his retirement and the reasons behind announcing the decision now.
“This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at international level,” Ashwin said, “I do feel there is a bit of a punch left in me as a cricketer, but I’d like to showcase that in club-level cricket. I’ve had a lot of fun and created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates. Even though I lost some of them over the last few years, we’re the last bunch of OGs, if you can say that, left in the dressing room. I’ll be marking this as my date of having played at this level.”
It is understood that Ashwin has been contemplating retirement for well over a year now. A dodgy knee hasn’t helped matters. The aches and pains and a deteriorating shoulder have been there for a while but India’s 0-3 loss to New Zealand – and his own inability to prise out wickets on home turners like he used to – may have contributed to the decision. Washington Sundar getting the nod in Perth too may have been a red flag.
Ashwin, the only Indian allrounder to score 3000 runs and take 500 wickets, did not take any questions after a brief statement, leaving Rohit to explain what had transpired. “I heard this when I came to Perth.” Rohit explained. “I was not there for the first three or four days of that Test. This was on his mind then. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind this. He understands what the team is thinking, what kind of combinations we are thinking.”
Ashwin will be 39 by the time of India’s next big home series and likely felt there was no point hanging on if the team had moved on from him. Rohit said he had to “convince” Ashwin to stay back and play the pink-ball Test in Adelaide, raising questions about why a proper farewell wasn’t announced there itself, instead of the end of a rain hit Test in which Ashwin wasn’t even a member of the playing XI.
Ashwin is, after all, the second-highest Test wicket-taker for India behind Anil Kumble, the 537 scalps a testimony to his stature, commitment and rare ability. He brought a thorough, scientific, almost nerdy approach to the art of finger spin in his 14-year international career. He formed a deadly combination with Ravindra Jadeja which was the cornerstone of India’s decade-long Test domination at home. The duo became a nightmare for visiting teams on the turning tracks in India.
Overseas, Ashwin ceased to be a regular feature in the XI but ended with 154 away wickets. He was more than a handy batter, a role in which he began his cricketing journey and now leaves after scoring six Test tons.
“When we came here, we were not sure about which spinner was going to play. We just wanted to assess what kind of conditions we get,” Rohit said. “When I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had. I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink-ball Test. It just happened that he felt that ‘if I’m not needed right now in the series, I’m better off saying goodbye to the game’.”
Ashwin’s decision deprives the squad of a major spinner for the remaining two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, but Rohit was supportive of the decision. “He was very sure about what he wanted to do. That is the kind of chat we have had as well, me and (head coach) Gautam Gambhir. It is important that a player like him, who has been a truly big match-winner, is allowed to make those decisions. If it was now, so be it.”
This Australia tour has seen chief selector Ajit Agarkar staying back to consult with Gambhir and the captain on the way forward for the team. Ashwin’s retirement may come as a message to some underperforming seniors to shape up. This is the second mid-series retirement for a top Indian cricketer on a tour of Australia, with then-captain MS Dhoni retiring after the Melbourne Test in the 2014-15 series.
Debate will now rage on whether Ashwin was nudged or pushed, but there can be no questions on his legacy. He is one of the two greatest finger spinners of this era along with Australia’s Nathan Lyon, with whom he had a long chat after the game. In India, the land of spin and great spinners, Ashwin will be feted till the game is played. As for Washington Sundar, he now has some very big boots to fill.
