Ravichandran Ashwin Test Retirement: In the last few months the Indian Cricket Team went through many changes, from retirements of senior players to young players getting appointed as captain; the transition goes on. The thing that disturbed fans was the sudden retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin from Test cricket.
However, the former Indian spin master Ravichandran Ashwin has now opened up on his ‘forced retirement’ chatter. He stated that his retirement from Test cricket and then from IPL was completely his decision.
Rohit Sharma, Gautam Gambhir Told Me…: Ravichandran Ashwin Test Retirement
In a recent video shared by Ashwin on his YouTube channel, it was made clear that seniors in the team asked him to rethink his retirement decision. This statement by him has now made it clear that there was no role of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma in Ashwin’s sudden retirement during the BGT 2024-25.
Ashwin said,
“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, 2-3 people told me not to take it, but I took my decision. In fact, they wanted me to play more.”
Further, he added,
“Rohit Sharma also told me to think about it, and Gauti Bhai also told me to think again. But I didn’t talk much about it with Ajit Agarkar. The decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. These are all very individual decisions.”
“No One Told Me…”: Ravichandran Ashwin Test Retirement
This statement from Ashwin, “No one told me I wanted to play more,” directly stated that there was no “forced retirement.”
When Ashwin announced his retirement, then-Test captain Rohit Sharma spoke about the dressing room chat where he said,
“We had this chat when I arrived in Perth. I somehow convinced him to stay for the pink-ball test, and then it just happened. He felt that if I am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game.”
Ashwin’s decision to retire on the Australia tour might have been the trigger point for him not playing an active part in the series. He later explained that waiting for the home series did not make any sense at that time of his career, and hence the retirement decision came in the Australia series.
Also Read: Shubman Gill Speaks Out On Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli ODI Future
