Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin addressed the speculations around his sudden retirement, saying that 'no one forced him to retire from international cricket, and it was an absolutely personal call. Ashwin shocked everyone with his sudden retirement from all forms of international cricket after the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at iconic Gabba Stadium in Brisbane.
Ashwin for his retirement
Soon after his retirement, there were speculations that he was forced to end his career early. However, the 39-year-old star revealed that no one forced him to retire; in fact, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma, who was India's Test captain at the time, urged him to play more.
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“No one told me that you should go, no one told me that there is no place for you in the team. Actually, before I took the decision, two-three people told me not to take it, but I took my decision. In fact, they wanted me to play more,” Ashwin, 39, said on his YouTube channel.
“Rohit Sharma (the then captain) also told me to think about it, Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) also told me to think again. But I didn’t talk much about it (retirement) with Ajit Agarkar (chairman of selectors).
“The decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. These are all very individual decisions,” he added.
Ravichandran Ashwin's Test career
Ashwin was one of the greatest Test cricketers of his period, having played 106 Test matches, taken 537 wickets, and amassed 3503 runs, including 6 hundreds and 14 fifties.
Ravichandran Ashwin's last cricketing outing
After announcing his retirement from all forms of international cricket, Ashwin was picked by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. He represented the Chennai-based franchise in the last edition of the cash-rich league. Ashwin had a forgettable outing in IPL 2025; he managed to pick seven wickets in nine outings. Notably, he has also retired from the IPL.