Ravichandran Ashwin's childhood coach Sunil Subramaniam is still in disbelief that the India's spin wizard has retired from the international cricket. After the drawn Gabba Test R Ashwin came up with a shocker and announced his sudden retirement from all formats of international cricket to leave cricketing world and fans surprised. Ashwin could only featured in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia where he took just one wicket for 53 runs in his 18 overs. He had to sit out of the series opener in Perth and the just-concluded third Test against Australia in Brisbane, which many think could have triggered his retirement decision.
R Ashwin's childhood coach is surprised with ace spinner's retirement call
Meanwhile, while speaking to Rediff.com, the ace spinner's childhood coach Subramaniam expressed his belief that Ashwin still had the potential to contribute in international cricket. However, he also shown respect towards Ashwin's reasons for retirement, which Subramaniam feels were personal. Subramaniam also said that Ashwin could have played the WTC 2025-2027.
"I was very surprised. He could have played the World Test Championship 2025-2027 cycle, there were quite a few home Tests, he could have called it quits after that. But he has retired now, we got to respect his decision, maybe he had his reasons,” Subramaniam told Rediff.com.
Subramaniam, who served as Ashwin's coach until 2014, underscored Tamil Nadu star cricketer's unique qualities. He described Ashwin as an individual with unwavering fearlessness and a deep intellectual approach to the game.
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"He was absolutely fearless. He always wanted to try out new things, to keep evolving, setbacks seemed to push him to do better. He has always a thinking person. He was his own man. It was his fearlessness, Ashwin was absolutely fearless. The brain would always react first, he was an intelligent cricketer, a good thinking cricketer,” Subramanian added, while speaking about his famous ward," he further added.
R Ashwin's illustrious career in numbers
R Ashwin, after the conclusion of the Gabba Test, accompanied India captain Rohit Sharma at the post-match press conference. During this conference, he made the surprising announcement of his retirement from all forms of international cricket. Following this announcement, Ashwin did not entertain any questions from the media.
Ashwin concluded his illustrious career as India's second-leading wicket-taker in Test cricket after Anil Kumble (619 wickets). He played 106 Test matches, picked 537 wickets at an impressive average of 24.00. His record includes 37 five-wicket hauls and eight 10-wicket match hauls. Beyond his bowling prowess, Ashwin also contributed well with the bat and played some match-winning knocks for India. He amassed 3,503 Test runs at an average of 25.75, riding on six centuries and 14 fifties.
