Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s spin bowling legend, retires from international cricket
The 38-year-old off-spinner, a 2011 ODI World Cup winner, played 106 Test matches, 116 ODIs and 65 T20s for India.
Cricket
Ravichandran Ashwin, India's second-highest wicket-taker in Test matches, announced his retirement from international cricket following the conclusion of the Brisbane Test against Australia on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old Ashwin made the announcement in the post-match press conference seated alongside captain Rohit Sharma. The off-spinner played the second match of the five-Test series in Adelaide but was replaced by Ravindra Jadeja in Brisbane.
"This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level," Ashwin said at a press conference.
Ravichandran Ashwin ended his Test career with 537 wickets in 106 Tests. Only Anil Kumble, with 619 wickets in 132 Tests, has more wickets for India in the longest format.
Ashwin also played 116 ODIs and 65 T20s for India. He last played an ODI during the 2023 World Cup against Australia in his hometown Chennai. His last T20 match for the Indian cricket team was against England during the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide.
In ODIs, Ashwin picked 156 wickets while he scalped 72 batters in T20Is. He made his debut for India in an ODI match against Sri Lanka in Harare in 2010, meaning his international career spanned 14 and a half years.
In all, Ravichandran Ashwin played 287 matches for the Indian men’s cricket team and picked up 765 wickets, trailing only behind Anil Kumble’s 953 scalps.
"I do feel there's a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to express that and probably showcase that in club-level cricket but this will be the last day (in international cricket),” Ashwin added.
Ashwin was bought by the Chennai Super Kings at the Indian Premier League auction last month and will represent them in the upcoming IPL season.
In addition to his right-arm spin bowling abilities, Ashwin was also handy with the bat and rescued India on several occasions.
Ashwin scored 3,503 Test runs, including six hundreds and 14 fifties. He is one of the 11 all-rounders to boast more than 3000 runs and also pick up 300 wickets. He also won a record 11 Player of the Series awards, the same as Sri Lankan spin legend Muthiah Muralitharan.
Ashwin was part of the Indian cricket team that won the ODI World Cup in 2011.