NEW DELHI: Spin great Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday stunned the cricketing world with his shock retirement after the rain-marred third India vs Australia Test in Brisbane ended in a draw.
Wishes poured in from all quarters for the 38-year-old, saluting his prolific career but legendary Kapil Dev isn’t happy with farewell the celebrated off-spinner received.
After Ashwin’s retirement, he had a farewell speech in the dressing room and a small ceremony. And soon after that, he took a flight back home to India.
With things happening so hastily, Kapil said that he wouldn’t have let Ashwin bid adieu to the sport in such a manner.
“The next generation has to be better than us. If not, the world is not going ahead. We never imagined that somebody would come close to Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar…Ashwin has gone. I wish I had been there, I wouldn’t have let him go like that. I would have sent him with a lot of respect and happiness,” news agency ANI quoted Kapil Dev as saying.
Ashwin, accompanied by Indian captain Rohit Sharma, made the retirement announcement during the post-match press conference, a moment filled with emotion.
The off-spinner leaves behind an extraordinary legacy.
In his 106-Test career, he claimed a staggering 537 wickets, including 37 five-wicket hauls, and amassed 3,503 runs.
Ranked seventh in the all-time Test wicket-takers list and second for India behind Anil Kumble (619), Ashwin also holds the distinction of having the second-most five-wicket hauls in Tests, following Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan (67).
The off-spinner played a pivotal role during India’s dominance in Test cricket, especially between 2014 and 2019, when the team reached the pinnacle of the format.
And his contributions weren’t limited to Tests. In limited-overs cricket, Ashwin featured in 181 matches, securing 228 wickets.
In ODIs, he took 156 wickets in 116 matches, with best figures of 4 for 25, and scored 707 runs.
In T20Is, he played 65 matches, claiming 72 wickets with best figures of 4 for 8 and scoring 184 runs.
With a remarkable tally of 765 international wickets across formats, Ashwin stands as India’s second-highest wicket-taker, only behind Anil Kumble (953).
He was also part of India’s historic 2011 World Cup-winning squad and the team that clinched the 2013 Champions Trophy.
