Ravichandran Ashwin told Indian team management he did not want to tour Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Test series unless guaranteed a spot in the playing XI and made his shock retirement decision after being snubbed by coach Gautam Gambhir for two of the three matches so far.
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The Test he did play, in Adelaide, came only after Rohit Sharma arrived Down Under and insisted that the off-spinner be recalled – yet a fuming Ashwin had to be convinced by the captain to take the field.
Those bombshell details came in a Press Trust of India report, as the cricket-mad nation comes to terms with the sudden end of a great career.
Ashwin, who took 537 Test wickets from 106 matches at 24.00, gave a snap press conference after the third Test in Brisbane to announce that his international cricket career was over, mid-series. He did not take questions – saying: “It’s truly a very emotional moment, and I don’t think I’m in a position where I would be answering the questions in the right way” – and was gone from the press podium in less than two minutes.
Ashwin will leave Australia today, in a stunning mid-series exit that few had foreseen. The series is alive at 1-1 after Brisbane’s rain-affected draw, with India readying for high stakes Tests in Melbourne and Sydney as Ashwin flees.
Rohit said that the 38-year-old had all but quit after his first Test omission.
“When I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had, and I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink-ball Test match. Then after that, it just happened,” Rohit revealed.
“He felt that if I am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game.”
It is an extraordinary end to a fine India career. Ashwin trails only fellow spinner Anil Kumble (619) for Test wickets.
“It is understood that retirement had been on Ashwin’s mind following India’s shocking 0-3 home series loss to New Zealand. The legendary off-spinner had conveyed to the team management that he would not travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy unless guaranteed a spot in the playing XI,” the Press Trust of India report read.
“India’s decision to play Washington Sundar ahead of Ashwin in the Perth Test seemed to be the tipping point. Although Ashwin returned for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide at Rohit Sharma’s insistence, Ravindra Jadeja was preferred for the subsequent Brisbane Test. As Rohit stated after the drawn third Test in Gabba, the squad’s composition for the final matches in Melbourne and Sydney remained uncertain.
“The decision to omit Ashwin for Washington Sundar in Perth appeared to have been taken in Rohit’s absence, with coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly having a significant say. By the time Rohit linked up with the team, he had to persuade Ashwin to play in Adelaide.”
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Ashwin told no one but Rohit is his retirement plans, according to a report in the Hindustan Times, citing “management’s lack of faith in Ashwin’s overseas performances”. He did, however, share an emotional hug with Virat Kohli just before his announcement.
“Usually, such decisions are conveyed to the top brass in advance. But with Ashwin, this wasn’t the case. Ashwin has been one of the strongest pillars of India’s success, and anyone who helped take the team to such incredible heights is expected to give the authorities some clue. Ashwin, however, did not disclose his cards to anyone barring the skipper. Even Virat Kohli, the captain Ashwin achieved most of his success under, going by his tribute, wasn’t in the loop.
“Even the BCCI selection panel was not informed beforehand, reiterating the belief that Ashwin alone decided to retire.”
Sharma said: “I heard this when I came to Perth. Obviously I was not here for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was in his mind since then. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it. I am pretty sure Ash when in position will be able to answer that.
His snap exit was criticised by Indian cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar, who said he had left his team in the lurch.
“He could have said, ‘Listen, after the end of the series, I won’t be available for selection for India’. What it does is that, similarly when MS Dhoni retired at the end of the third Test in 2014-15 series, it leaves you one short,” Gavaskar said.
“The selection committee has picked so many players for a tour with a purpose. If there are any injuries, they can select from the reserve players to have in the team.
“So, Sydney is somewhere where there is a lot of support on offer for spinners. So India could have played with two spinners. You never know. He could have been there for sure. I don’t know how the pitch in Melbourne will be like. Normally, you tend to look at the end of the series. That’s it. In the middle, it is not usual.
The Indian media reacted with shock to Ashwin’s exit.
“Who would have thought that the kitbag which landed on Australian soil in Perth would be doing a mid-series re-route from Brisbane to Chennai, instead of Brisbane-Melbourne-Sydney-Chennai,” wrote Sahil Malhotra for The Times of India.
“In a snap of the finger, the professor of spin bowling, one of India’s greatest match-winners in Tests, the quintessential team man and an asset for every captain left with a question on every lip: Why now?”
Writing for the Indian Express, Sriram Veera said that Ashwin’s exit carried the whiff of intrigue.
“As he left the media room after his announcement to retire, Rohit was asked why this decision was taken in the middle of the series and he said some empty words about how Ashwin’s decision should be respected.
“That may be so, but with two Tests still left, and particularly when the final game is in Sydney where conditions can at times even allow two spinners or at least provide the scope for the best spinner in the squad to play, this has been an odd decision.
“Particularly when the best spinner in the Indian squad, not just by reputation but even in how all three of them have bowled thus far in these three Test matches, is R Ashwin. His decision and management’s inability to convince him to rethink does give an odd whiff to the entire episode.”
Veera’s analysis piece also said: “He might be celebrated for his cerebral art but Ashwin is an emotional cricketer. He once revealed to this newspaper about how a stray remark by his father about his trait to speak his mind “screwing him in his career”, made him retreat to a room and weep. Unable to handle the flood of emotions, he would eventually get counselling from a therapist. Of late, he said that he is in a “happy space” and trying to gather as many “moments to remember” rather than stress a lot about little stuff.”
Another PTI piece gave another fascinating insight into how Ashwin’s cricket, which found controversy with his embrace of ‘Mankad’ run-outs, was shaped by his father.
“He is a man of strong values. In his junior cricket days, it was his father Ravichandran, who, from the sidelines, asked him to run the non-striker out when he saw him gaining unfair ground. That started his tryst with run outs at the non-strikers’ end. He believed in rules and played by them. ‘Spirit of Cricket’ in garb of cheating was unacceptable to him.”
