Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Indian men’s cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir, saying his approach puts the team before the individual, while talking about his retirement, his time with the Indian cricket team and the current state of Test cricket.Speaking on RevSportz’s Trailblazers, Ashwin said he felt the end of his Test career during the opening match of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series in Perth.“I was a senior bowler in Perth (the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy). Washi played that Test and I realized my time was up,” he said.After the second Test in Brisbane, a pink-ball match where he scored 22 and 7 and took a wicket, Ashwin retired from international cricket. He finished with 765 wickets across formats for India and scored 4,394 runs, including six centuries and 15 fifties in 233 innings. He was part of the Indian teams that won the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy, ending a career that spanned 15 years.His decision to walk out, followed by the exits of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli after the same series, led to criticism of the team management. Gambhir faced backlash on social media amid suggestions that senior players were being pushed into retirement. Ashwin rejected this view and backed the coach.“I like Gautam and many people may have different opinions about him, but he is someone who always puts the team before the individual,” Ashwin said. “He gives credit to the team, not to individuals, and that’s something I admire,” he added.Talking about India’s record in Test cricket over the last decade and a half, Ashwin said: “In the 2018 tour we went to Australia, we won that series. But there was a lot of talk about Steve Smith not being in the team. Right. I think Steve Smith and David Warner were not in the (Australia) team and why (many people) probably won it on the tour of India. We had a better Steve Smith in that series. David Warner was not there (2021-22).Ashwin said there is more than just a few people in Indian cricket and said, “And that’s why I think there’s a post on Instagram where me, Pujara and Jinx (Ajinkya Rahane) made a post saying there’s more meat to the Indian team than just a few people. Right? And Virat, let’s not get it all wrong, is probably the cretrick team torchbeare. That’s why a lot of people have started watching Test cricket as well, but the Test team can’t be about just one or two individuals. A team building a legacy over a decade simply means so much more than individuals, and that’s why I like what Gautam is talking about.Looking back on his time alongside Kohli and Rohit, Ashwin pointed to the understanding within the group.“The best thing about us was that none of us blamed ourselves. We all wanted India to win and make the country proud. We were motivated to do that,” he said.He also addressed the challenges for the Test side during the current phase of change.“The team is in transition. Playing against spin is a problem but for me batting is not that big of a problem. We will produce runs. Bowling is not as effective as batting and that is the concern,” he concluded.
