R Ashwin retired during Australia tour. Photo: BCCI
R Ashwin announced a shock retirement from international cricket during the recently concluded Australia tour. The India legend travelled to Australia as India's most experienced spinner but he only played one game there. Washington Sudnar pipped Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to get a place in the playing XI in the Perth Test match.
India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Ashwin had to be convinced to play the second Test match in Adelaide. Ashwin was once again benched for the third game and he decided to retire after the fixture. He returned home a day later.
Nearly a month after Ashwin's retirement, Kapil Dev has broken his silence on it and said that he should have waited. "Ashwin is a very strong-headed guy. It’s good to see such characters in cricketers. I felt a little sad when he left in the middle of the tour. He was a great cricketer India has produced and served the game so well, but he should have waited and done it differently. Nevertheless, what he did for the country is unbelievable," Kapil told Gulf News.
Ashwin finished his career with more Test wickets than Kapil. The off-spinner scalped 537 wickets in 106 Tests. He also scored 3503 runs, which includes 6 centuries.
Once the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, Kapil scalped 434 wickets in 131 Tests. He also scored 5248 runs. He hit 8 centuries in Tests.
R Ashwin to play IPL
R Ashwin has only quit international cricket and he will continue to play IPL. The IPL legend rejoined Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2025 mega-auction and will play for them after a decade. Ashwin moved to Rising Pune Super Giants in 2016.
Punjab Kings bought him in the IPL 2018 mega-auction. Ashwin played for Rajasthan Royals (RR) from IPL 2022 to 2025. RR were keen to buy Ashwin in the IPL 2025 mega-auction but CSK made the winning bid for him worth Rs 9.75 crore.
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