Gabba, Brisbane

Ravichandran Ashwin, the ace Indian spinner, announced his international retirement after the conclusion of the Gabba Test against Australia on Wednesday (Dec 18). Just before the umpires decided to call off the game due to rain interruption ahead of tea on day five, visuals of Virat Kohli and Ashwin hugging in the dressing room indicated what was about to unfold.

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Following the game, Ashwin joined Team India captain Rohit Sharma for the post-game presser, announced his retirement, and calmly left the arena, as he did with Test cricket despite being the seventh highest-ranked bowler in the format.

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Ashwin has countless records to his name; despite being the only cricketer to score more than five Test hundreds and picking over 500 wickets at the same time, the off-spinner is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests (533) after Anil Kumble (619). Ashwin also has joint second-most five-wicket hauls (37) with the late Shane Warne in red-ball cricket. 

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Since debuting against the West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in 2011, Ashwin has pioneered his way to become India’s greatest matchwinner, especially at home. For the record, Ravi Ashwin is an ODI World Cup and a Champions Trophy winner.

Meanwhile, upon announcing his retirement, his teammates, former cricketers, experts, and even broadcasters took to social media to share delight over watching him play and win countless matches for the team across formats. 

From the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to current veterans Virat and captain Rohit Sharma, everyone lauded Ashwin’s contributions to world cricket, let alone India. 

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Meanwhile, Ashwin ends his international career with 287 matches, 765 wickets, 4394 runs, and six hundreds across formats. 

The Test genius will play for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025.

(With inputs from agencies)