The veteran Indian cricketer, Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his retirement from international cricket post the third Test match against Australia in Brisbane.
One of @bcci’s greatest match-winners – a magician with the ball and an astute thinker of the game. An international career to be proud of @ashwinravi99, wishing you the best for the future. pic.twitter.com/6RKbiG8jsw
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) December 18, 2024
Following the Gabba Test, the news was made at the press conference held after the game.
Currently, the 38-year-old was ranked fifth and third in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers and all-rounders, respectively.
Ashwin, India’s second most wicket-taker in Tests after Anil Kumble, has ended a 14-year career that included 106 Tests, the latest of which was a day-night encounter in Adelaide as part of the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Notably, the off-spinner is the fastest bowler to reach 250, 300, and 350 Test wickets, and he ends with an aggregate tally of 537, ranking sixth all-time in Test wicket-taking.
Ashwin’s 37 five-wicket hauls in Test matches, including one on his debut, are second only to Shane Warne‘s record and only less than Muttiah Muralitharan‘s 67. Ashwin had a record of 268 dismissals of left-handers in Test cricket at the time of his retirement. In Test cricket, he has amassed 3503 runs, including six hundreds and 14 fifties.
Ashiwn, an integral part of the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy winning teams, also appeared in 116 ODIs for India, taking 156 wickets at an economy rate of 4.93 and an average of 33.20. He also scored 707 runs in the format. He also played 65 T20Is, taking 72 wickets in the shorter format.
On his retirement, Ashwin said, “This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats in the international level. I have had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates even though I have lost some of them over the last few years. We are the last bunch of OGs. Obviously, there are a lot of people to thank but I would be failing in my duties if I didn’t thank the BCCI and the fellow teammates.
“I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been a part of the journey, most importantly Rohit, Virat (Kohli), Ajinkya (Rahane), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, who have taken those splendid catches to give me the number of wickets I have managed to get over the years.”
Acquired for INR 9.75 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction, Ashwin is poised to make his return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for the upcoming season. He is also expected to continue participating in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and other club-level cricket events.