Ashwin retired from international cricket with immediate effect in December 2024.
Ravichandran Ashwin shocked the cricketing world by announcing his retirement from the international arena with immediate effect during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last December. His decision came after the third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw.
The 38-year-old was not part of India's playing XI for the Gabba Test. He was also left out of series opener in Perth but featured in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, where he claimed one wicket and scored 29 runs across two innings.
Four months later, Ashwin has now opened up on his sudden retirement call midway through the Australia tour.
Speaking on the 'Mike Testing 1, 2, 3' podcast alongside Michael Hussey, Ashwin revealed that he wanted to retire after the Test against Bangladesh in Chennai, where he slammed a century and picked up a six-wicket haul.
The legendry off-spinner also stated that he had been contemplating retirement for a long time and deliberated on hanging up his boots following his 100th Test appearance against England in Dharamsala.
“To be very honest, I wanted to do it after my 100th Test. And then I thought, Ok, let me give it a go in the home season. Because, I mean, you’re playing well, and you’re getting wickets, you’re making runs," Ashwin told Hussey in the podcast.
"I thought it does make sense to play a bit. I was having a lot of fun, but the whole hard yards that I had to put through to put myself in the park again, physically and mentally, one of the most important things that was pulling me down was the family time," he added.
Ashwin then spoke about not playing the BGT opener in Perth and how it took an emotional toll on him.
"I thought I’d probably close off with the Chennai Test here. I ended up getting a six-wicket haul and a hundred. So it’s very tough to quit when you’re doing very well. So, I went on with the series, and we lost against New Zealand. So, one after the other, it was just building up. And then I thought, okay, let me go to Australia. Let me see how this goes. Because the last time I was in Australia, I had a great, great tour," Ashwin stated.
"And when I didn’t start in Perth, it was like, okay, this whole circle keeps going again. People add very little value to what you’re going through emotionally. They don’t really consider that because your emotions are yours, and it doesn’t matter to anybody else. So I had been contemplating that, and then I thought, okay, maybe it is time," he remarked.
Ashwin represented India in 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is, picking up 765 wickets across all formats. He finished his career as the country’s second highest wicket-taker (537 scalps) in Test cricket, only behind Anil Kumble’s record tally of 619 dismissals.
Ashwin is currently playing for Chennai Super Kings in the 2025 edition of Indian Premier League. The five-time champions splashed INR 9.75 crore to secure his services during the mega auction last year.