The former Indian spinner R Ashwin finally ended the growing speculation around his retirement from the international cricket and denied any rumor that former Indian Captain Rohit Sharma or head coach Gautam Gambhir forced his decision. Ashwin ended his famous career as one of the best Indian spinners in the middle of the Trophy Border-Gavascar series against Australia 2024-25.
While his retirement naturally caused buzz, especially given sudden nature of notifications, Ashwin explained on his YouTube channel that the decision was completely his own. He also left the Premier League, Indian, which further confirmed that he was not affected by any external pressure. Although several people recommended him not to retire, he decided himself.
“No one told me you should go, no one told me there was no room for you. Actually, before I decided, 2-3 people told me not to take it, but I decided. In fact, I wanted me to play more,” Ashwin said.
He added that Captain Rohit and coach Gambhir then suggested to think twice before he did the final calll.
“Rohit Sharma also told me to think about it, Gauti Bhai also told me to think about it again. But I didn’t talk much about it with Ajit Agarkar (the main selector of India),” he added.
“The decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. All these are very individual decisions,” he added.
Ashwin’s retirement set out a remarkable sequence, with the star body of Virat Kohli, one of the best Indian test players, withdrew from the format only a few days after the former Captain Rohit Sharma prepared the way for SHUBMAN GILL to take over as an Indian test captain.
Since then, led by Gill and without Ashwin Spin, India has brought solid performance during their English tour and has completed a series of 2-2.
India is currently involved in two home test series matches against West Indies, which launched a new cycle of the World Championship in commanding victory in the first shift test and 140 runs. According to Ashwin’s absence, rotational duties were shared by Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, all of whom played admirably.
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Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
9 October 2025
