India’s legendary spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Wednesday announced that he is retiring from international cricket at the end of the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test in Brisbane, to be held today, December 18.
The cricketer is ending his outstanding 14-year-long career, grieving his fans and the badgers within and beyond the country. The retirement comes after his final featuring in the second Test in Adelaide, Australia.
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India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker, Ashwin boasts about taking out about 537 batsmen in 106 matches. A spin bowler, the 38-year-old bagged 37 Test five-fors, taking five or more wickets in a single innings. The achievement places Ashwin only behind the legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, who has the highest number of five-wicket hauls, with 77 across Test and ODI cricket.
Since his debut in 2010, Ashwin has been part of India’s ODI World Cup and Champions Trophy triumphs in 2011 and 2013. Notably, he has secured the position of being the second highest wicket-taker across the formats after the legendary Anil Kumble’s tally of 956. Ashwin has bagged 765 wickets.
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The cricketer was reportedly seen having a long conversation with former captain Kohli in the dressing room during a rain break. The veteran off-spinner and senior batter also shared a warm embrace during the chat.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has took to its X handle to pay respect on the retirement of cricketer by referring him synonymous with mastery, wizardry, brilliance, and innovation “The ace spinner and Team India’s invaluable all-rounder announces his retirement from international cricket. Congratulations on a legendary career,” the post reads.
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙬𝙞𝙣 🫡
A name synonymous with mastery, wizardry, brilliance, and innovation 👏👏
The ace spinner and #TeamIndia‘s invaluable all-rounder announces his retirement from international cricket.
Congratulations on a legendary career, @ashwinravi99 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/swSwcP3QXA
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 18, 2024
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon praised Indian counterpart on his final day ahead of Day 5’s play at Gabba, saying that he has nothing but respect. Just the way Ash has conducted himself on and off the field for a number of years now, and his skill set is incredible. We’ve got different opinions on different things; there’s no right or wrong. But to have those conversations with a bowler like Ashwin is amazing. From different variations to different tactics, understanding what he’s trying to do. We are both very different. So our conversation this morning was brilliant, and I hope we have more through the series and in the future as well,” said the Australian cricketer on the counterpart retiring.