R Ashwin jokingly threw shade at teammate Virat Kohli who blows kisses at his wife after a milestone.
R Ashwin, now a former India spinner, announced his international retirement after the third Test of BGT 2024 in Brisbane. This brought an end to a lovely 14-year career in which Ashwin took 765 international wickets for India, including 537 in Test cricket.
Ashwin is known not only for his great cricket skills but also for his articulate communication style. He is noted for having stimulating and thought-provoking chats.
Ashwin's memoir, published in July, provides insight into both his personal life and his cricketing career. The book's release coincided with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which preceded his retirement from international cricket.
He expressed hope that the memoir would give readers a better picture of his nature outside of cricket. He wanted people to recognize him as more than just a cricketer.
Addressing a prevalent misconception about his demeanor, Ashwin contrasted his on-field seriousness with Virat Kohli's more emotive manner.
“I wanted people to know me for who I am because, a lot of times, Ashwin’s picking up a wicket, and Virat Kohli is all over the place. He’s just jumping about, and people very often tend to believe that Ashwin’s the one who’s absolutely serious and Virat’s the one who’s having all the fun, which is why somebody asked me the question: ‘Why are you serious all the time?” Ashwin said on Sky Sports Podcast.
Ashwin explained that his serious expression during matches does not accurately reflect his personality off the field.
“My answer to that, in the first place, is I’m never a serious person. But when somebody is clobbering me and I have the ball in my hand to win a Test match for my country, my mind is ticking, because I’m in the process,” he said.
Ashwin has the most five-wicket hauls (37) and Player of the Series accolades (11) among Indian Test cricketers. Despite his accomplishments, he avoids elaborate celebrations. He avoids too demonstrative gestures of affection, such as blowing kisses after reaching milestones.
“So very often, you don’t see me picking up a five-wicket haul and pushing across a kiss through the blade of my bat to my better half sitting in the dressing room or in the hospitality box. I felt like a lot of who I am got diluted in the fact of what I’ve become. So I wanted to bring that out in my book,” he added.
In his 106 Test matches for India, Ashwin took 537 wickets at an average of 24.00. His best bowling figures in a Test innings were 7/59 runs. As a batsman, Ashwin scored 3,503 runs in Test matches at an average of 25.75. He registered six centuries and 14 half-centuries, with a highest score of 124.
He also took 156 wickets in 116 ODIs and 72 wickets in 65 T20Is. Ashwin was a member of the Indian teams that won the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.