Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin left cricket fans shocked with his sudden retirement following the third AUS v IND Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In a post-match presser alongside Indian captain Rohit Sharma, Ashwin announced his decision to quit international cricket and left without taking any questions.
Indian media outlets reported that Ravichandran Ashwin had only informed Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir before announcing his retirement after the third AUS v IND Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in a draw.
However, Ashwin raised eyebrows when he mentioned, “I do feel there’s a bit of punch left in me.”
Now, his father Ravichandran claimed the decision might be driven by his son feeling ‘humiliated.’
When asked about his reaction to his son’s announcement of retiring from international cricket, Ravichandran said that he and his family were informed with little time left on the clock.
“I too came to know last minute, actually. What was going on in his mind, I don’t know. He just announced. I too, accepted it with full pleasure. I did not have any feelings at all about that. But the way he gave his retirement, one part I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued,” he said.
“(Retiring) is his (Ashwin’s) wish and desire, I cannot interfere in that, but the way in which he gave that, there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation,” he added.
While the family of the Indian spinner was shocked by the sudden announcement, his father said that they were expecting it.
“We were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own,” Ravichandran said.
It is worth noting here that the spinner is the second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket for India, having bagged 619 wickets in 132 Test matches.
However, throughout his career, he found it challenging to maintain his place in the Indian squads in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) nations.
