Cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar questioned the timing of Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement call. The former India captain reckoned that the spinner could announce his retirement after finishing the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. India are yet to play two Test matches of the ongoing five-Test match series.
Ashwin who featured in the pink-ball Test surprised the cricketing world by announcing his retirement with immediate effect after the third Test ended in a draw on Wednesday.
"He could have said, listen after the end of the series, I won't be available for selection for India. What it does is that, similarly when MS Dhoni retired at the end of the third Test in 2014-15 series, it leaves you one short," Gavaskar told broadcasters.
"The selection committee has picked so many players for a tour with a purpose. If there are any injuries, they can select from the reserve players to have in the team.
The former India captain feels that Ashwin could have had a role to play in the last Test of the five-match series in Sydney, where the pitch could have offered support to spinners.
"So, Sydney is somewhere where there is a lot of support on offer for spinners. So India could have played with two spinners. You never know. He could have been there for sure. I don't know how the pitch in Melbourne will be like. Normally, you tend to look at the end of the series. That's it. In the middle, it is not usual," Gavaskar said.
"Normally, you tend to look at the end of the series. That's it. In the middle, it is not usual," he added.
Ashwin who is the second-highest wicket-taker for India in Tests was featured in just one Test match in India's three-Test outings against Australia.
He picked up 537 wickets in 106 Test outings. The veteran star also scored 3503 runs during his outings in the longest format of the game.
Ashwin played 181 white ball matches including 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is. In ODIs, he picked up 156 wickets at an average of 33.20, with best figures of 4/25 and in T20Is he took 72 wickets at an average of 23.22. His best figures are 4/8. He also scored 184 runs in 19 innings at an average of 26.28, with best score of 31. He is the sixth-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is.
With 765 scalps in 287 matches, he is India's second-highest wicket-taker across all formats, next to Kumble (953). He also won the 2011 50-Over World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy with India.
