Legendary Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin retired from all forms of international cricket on Wednesday. He made this surprise announcement after the completion of the third ongoing Border Gavaskar test at the Gabba in Australia which ended as a draw. Ashwin accompanied skipper Rohit Sharma and announced this decision during the press conference. He is 38 years old. The second test in Adelaide was technically his last test in appearance.
Ashwin, who is currently on the fifth and third place place in the ICC rankings for bowlers and all-rounders, is the second highest wicket taker for India in tests after Anil Kumble. The wily off-spinner claimed 537 wickets in 106 test matches his 14 year career. He was the fastest to 250,300 and 350 test wickets in the history of the game and also stands as the seventh highest wicket taker of all time.
Ashwin confirmed that this will be his last day as Indian cricketer and also clarified that he would continue playing club cricket. He thanked all coaches and expressed gratitude towards several players with whom he shared the dressing room and the field. Ashwin took five wickets in 37 innings which the second most after Muttiah Muralitharan.
Ashwin debuted for India in the longer format in 2011 against West Indies. He was a part of the World Cup winning squad in 2011 and also won the Champions Trophy in 2013. He played for Chennai Super Kings and other franchises in Indian Premier League. He even appears in Tamil Nadu Premier League as well.
Ashwin won the prestigious Arjuna Award by the Indian government in 2015 and following a successful career in 2015-16, he was awarded the Men’s Cricketer of the year award by ICC. He was born and brought up in Chennai.
