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"Didn't Start In Perth...It Doesn't Matter To Anybody" R Ashwin On Sudden Retirement

Rajgeeta Yadav

Ravichandran Ashwin reveals the reason behind his shocking retirement [Source: ICC/X.com]Ravichandran Ashwin reveals the reason behind his shocking retirement [Source: ICC/X.com]

On Monday, former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin received the Padma Shri Award from President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. After the honour, Ashwin opened up about why he decided to retire from international cricket.

R Ashwin Breaks Silence on His Sudden Retirement

Ashwin shared that he first thought about retiring after playing a Test match in Chennai against Bangladesh, where he scored a century and took six wickets. But he didn’t announce it then. Instead, he shocked everyone by suddenly retiring in the middle of India’s tour of Australia and returning home. Later, he was seen playing in the IPL 2025 for Chennai Super Kings.

“To be very honest, I wanted to do it after my 100th Test. And then I thought, Ok, let me give it a go in the home season. Because, I mean, you’re playing well and you’re getting wickets, you’re making runs. So I thought it does make sense to play a bit,” he said.

Ashwin said things changed when the Australia tour didn’t go as he hoped. He revealed it was hard to sit out the first Test in Perth, where Washington Sundar was picked instead of him. 

“It’s very tough to quit when you’re doing very well. So, I went on with the series and we lost against New Zealand. So one after the other, it was just building up. And then I thought, okay, let me go to Australia. Let me see how this goes. Because the last time I was in Australia, I had a great, great tour. And when I didn’t start in Perth, it was like, okay, this whole circle keeps going again," Ashwin said.

"People add very little value to what you’re going through emotionally. They don’t really consider that because your emotions are yours and it doesn’t matter to anybody else. So I had been contemplating that and then I thought, okay, maybe it is time," he further added. 

Ashwin had earlier said he had thoughts of retiring twice before, once during the 2023 home series against Australia, and then again a year later after India’s big win over England. He spoke about his retirement on Mike Testing 123, a podcast hosted by former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey, who is also the batting coach of CSK.

R Ashwin's Illustrious Career

Ashwin had a brilliant career for India. He was part of the teams that won the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. He was one of India’s biggest match-winners. In numbers, he took 537 wickets in 106 Test matches (India’s second-highest in Tests) and 3503 runs and 6 centuries in Tests. Meanwhile in ODIS, He scalped 156 wickets and 72 wickets in T20I.

Even though he’s retired from international cricket, Ashwin is still playing in the IPL 2025 for Chennai Super Kings, who bought him for Rs. 9 Crore in the auction.