‘You will be missed brother’
Ravichandran Ashwin called time on his career on Wednesday after the third India vs Australia Test at the Gabba ended in a draw, thanks to weather conditions in Brisbane.
Ashwin made the announcement after the third Test at Gabba ended in a draw with rain and bad light making play impossible. The five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is now level at 1-1.
After the brief announcement, tributes poured in for the spinner, including from Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
India coach Gautam Gambhir paid rich tribute to Ashwin on X.
“The privilege of seeing you grow from a young bowler to a legend of modern cricket is something that I wouldn’t trade for the world! I know that generations of bowlers to come will say that I became a bowler cause of Ashwin! You will be missed brother,” wrote Gambhir.
Ashwin who made his Test debut in November 2011, sat next to Rohit Sharma at the post-match press conference and said: “This will be my last year as an Indian cricketer in all formats. I do feel there’s a bit of months left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to expose and probably showcase that in club-level cricket, but this will be the last day.”
READ MORE: As R Ashwin retires, here are the top 15 records of India’s premier match-winner
Rohit Sharma had been equally effusive in his praise.
Rohit said Ashwin was a ‘very witty guy, funny guy’. “Whenever we had crises, we looked up to Ash and he was there to deliver for us. He has been a great servant, he probably hasn’t left any stone unturned.”
Ashwin’s career stats read: 537 wickets in Tests, which put him only behind Anil Kumble as his country’s highest wicket-taker. Ashwin had the most player of the series awards in Tests and the second most five-wicket hauls in an innings.
His average (24) and strike rate (50) are the finest any Indian spinner of any era. He also posted six hundreds and 14 half-centuries.
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