Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up on his retirement from all forms of international cricket saying that he had no desire to remain in the game solely for a send-off.
Ashwin admitted that he believed that he was far from his retirement. Notably, Ashwin’s retirement came midway through the recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 which shook the cricketing world.
Ashwin declared his retirement after the third test in Brisbane and travelled back to the country on the very next day.
Several former cricketers including Kapil Dev opined that Ashwin deserved a grand farewell test. However, the off-spinner maintained that he had no regrets about his career.
“I want to play more cricket. Where is the place? Obviously not in the Indian dressing room, but somewhere else. I want to be honest with the game. Imagine if I wanted to play a farewell Test but didn’t deserve a place.”
“Imagine I was only selected because it was my farewell Test. I don’t want that. I felt there was still strength in my cricket and that I could have played a bit more.”
“But it’s always better to leave when people ask ‘why’ rather than ‘why not’,” Ashwin shared on his YouTube show.
Ashwin was India’s second highest-wicket taker (537 wickets) in test. Despite being not selected in the opening test, India opted for Washington Sundar’s assistance. However he played second test but was dropped again for the third test in Brisbane.
“I’ve played cricket for many years and learned one thing: not everything goes the way you want it to. We often think, ‘this could have been better’ or ‘that should have happened.’ But I have no regrets about my career.”
“I’ve taken lessons from both my failures and successes. I’ve always played for the joy the game brings me, and I will continue to do so as long as that joy remains,” Ashwin said.
“What difference does it make if I come out with the ball and people applaud? How long will that applause last? In the pre-social media era, people would talk about it and forget within a week.”
“There’s no need for a farewell. The game has given us so much joy, and we have played with happiness,” he added.
However, Ashwin will continue to compete in Indian Premier League (IPL) after being sold to CSK for INR 9.75 crore during IPL 2025 auction after representing the team in 2015.
