It was over in an instant. The enduring workhorse of indian cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin, announced his retirement with the least amount of fanfare at the conclusion of the third Test match between australia and india in Brisbane.
He kept it straightforward, yet it ended up being a very emotional sequence of events. Ashwin vibes permeated every moment, from the pre-announcement embrace with virat kohli to the formal announcement with skipper rohit sharma behind him to the final hair-raising speech that nearly caused the entire dressing room to burst into tears. If Sachin Tendulkar's retirement marked the end of childhood for a whole generation of 90s children, Ashwin's curtain call might mark the start of the end of their youth. Yes, the blow is still rather strong.
Ashwin's choice was comparable to that of MS Dhoni. With one game remaining in the 2014–15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, dhoni declared his retirement from Test cricket after helping india draw the MCG Test. Even if the series is tensely locked at 1-1, Ashwin essentially did the same here, ending his illustrious career. Contrary to what his captain had to say, Ashwin accelerated his departure and took the flight back home later in the day. In fact, rohit sharma had only a few hours earlier announced that Ashwin would be departing for india the next day. Ashwin arrived in chennai this morning after travelling from brisbane around 11:45 PM. However, Ashwin was given a very kind and heartfelt farewell before he left. However, the players, coaches, and support personnel were unable to conduct a full meeting at the team hotel since he had to depart early owing to scheduling constraints.
"He left from brisbane on wednesday night, he wants to be with this family," The Hindustan Times was informed by a team source.Although everyone is sending Ashwin their best wishes for the next phase of his life, there are some concerns raised by the former india spinner's decision to depart brisbane during a tour. When the series was still up in the air with two games remaining, the great sunil gavaskar was taken aback to see Ashwin pack his bags and return home. In Sydney, where playing two spinners has traditionally been the norm, Ashwin might have begun for india in the last Test match. Gavaskar believes that Ashwin's hasty departure has caused him to leave india to find a replacement, which might potentially cause one or more things to go wrong at the last minute."Mahendra Singh dhoni actually left you one short when he departed at the conclusion of the third Test nearly nine or ten years ago. There is a reason why a selection committee chose so many players for the tour. Someone from the reserves might step in if there is an injury, etc. However, in Sydney, everyone talks about how spinners can get help. He could have played, then. You never know, india might have used two spinners. And there's no doubt he would have been there. However, you typically say, "Look, that's it at the end of the series." "But it's not normal in the middle," Gavaskar stated during the Star sports show.Rohit Sharma's claim is refuted by Ravichandran Ashwin.
But as Rohit pointed out, he didn't learn about Ashwin's choice until he arrived in Perth last month. Furthermore, his admission that he had to "convince" Ashwin to play in the pink-ball Test in adelaide is a clear sign that Ash had already made up his mind. The argument over Ashwin's inability to consistently make the indian playing XI when competing in SENA Nations has gone on for far too long, and it was time for him to leave on his own terms rather than having the decision imposed upon him. However, Gavaskar is unsure of how much sense Ashwin's departure makes in a series, let alone a high-profile one involving two of the best Test sides in the world.
"The individual knows whether he has it in him at the end of the day. It might still be there; you might have the talent. On the other hand, you might not want to fight. That's how it might go. Ashwin, a highly clever individual, answered the phone because he believed he lacked the motivation to play international cricket beyond today. It's a little unexpected because you usually think that if you're chosen for a tour, you'll honour your promise and stay until the finish. Since the selection committee chooses you for a reason, even Dhoni's choice was unexpected. "It's a different story if you're injured, but if you announce that you're retiring and not available in the middle, it just throws the entire plan off," Gavaskar told sports Today."Look, this is something that could have been avoided," the selecting committee would undoubtedly be thinking. His batting and bowling may have been very helpful in melbourne and Sydney.
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