Ravichandran Ashwin retires from international cricket

BRISBANE: Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced retirement from international cricket following the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia which ended in a draw at the Gabba in Brisbane.

“This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level,” Ravichandran Ashwin in a post-match presser of the rain-affected third Test concluded. He expressed gratitude to the Indian cricket team for his journey.

“I do feel there’s a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to express that and probably showcase that in club-level cricket, but this will be the last day [for India].

“I’ve had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit [Sharma] and several of my other teammates, even though I have lost some of them [to retirements] over the last few years.”

“We’re the last bunch of OGs if we can say that, left out in the dressing room, and. I will be marking this as my date of having played at this level.

“Obviously there are a lot of people to thank, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn’t thank the BCCI and my fellow team-mates. Several of them.

“I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been part of the journey. Most importantly, Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], [Cheteshwar] Pujara, who have taken those splendid catches around the bat to give me the number of wickets I’ve managed to get over the years.”

Having played for India in 106 Test matches and claimed 537 wickets at an average of 24, Ravichandran Ashwin will go down in history as one of the best bowlers to have ever played for the nation.

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After Anil Kumble, who took 619 wickets in 132 Test matches, he is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket. In addition, Ravichandran Ashwin has amassed 3503 runs in Test cricket, including six hundreds and fourteen half-centuries.

He is one of 11 all-rounders to score over 3000 runs with 300 wickets.

Ravichandran Ashwin has played 116 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 65 Twenty20 Internationals throughout his 14-year international career, collecting 156 and 72 wickets respectively.

He is also the part of Indian cricket team that won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.