India's ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been the wrecker-in-chief for over a decade in home conditions and one of the main reason behind home domination, announced his retirement from international cricket on December 18. Before announcing his retirement, Ashwin had an emotional conversation in the dressing room with Virat Kohli as rain played spoilsport at The Gabba, Brisbane. After Ashwin's announcement in the post-match press conference, Kohli took to social media and wrote a heartfelt note for his teammate.
"I’ve played with you for 14 years and when you told me today you’re retiring, it made me a bit emotional and the flashbacks of all those years playing together came to me. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey with you ash (Ashwin), your skill and match winning contributions to Indian cricket are second to none and you will always and always be remembered as a legend of Indian cricket," Kohli wrote in a post.
Ashwin also had a conversation with head coach Gautam Gambhir in the dressing room before heading to the press conference. He got a 'guard of honour' for the team as incessant rain led to a draw in the third Test and the series is still level at 1-1.
Ashwin took the decision last month
Ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Rohit confirmed that Ashwin will go back home. He also revealed that Ashwin had made up his mind during the Perth Test itself and he had to convince the 38-year-old to play pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval.
In his last appearance in international cricket, the off-spinner bagged just one wicket. He registered scores of 22 and 7 as India suffered batting collapses and lost the second Test by 10 wickets.
Ashwin to continue playing domestic, franchise cricket
Ashwin in his statement said that he will continue to play domestic and club-level cricket. His next high profile appearance is likely to be in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. He will return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) The five-time IPL champions roped him in for Rs 9.75 crore.
