Former Team India bowling all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin was one of the team’s top matchwinners during his career. The talented cricketer secured 500+ crucial wickets for the national team as a player, but called off his career amid a Test vs Australia in December 2024.
Most fans single out head coach Gautam Gambhir and the-then Test captain Rohit Sharma as persons behind Ashwin’s retirement. The veteran retired nearly a year ago, but fans can’t seem to get over his unceremonious exit from India’s Test lineup.
Let’s explore all the details surrounding Ashwin’s retirement, and see what he has to say several months after retiring from all national cricket formats.
Sudden Retirement of Top Indian Cricketers from Team India Raises Concerns Among Fans
Questions continue to arise over Ashwin’s retirement amid a Test series, and some sets of fans believe he was shown the door prematurely. Others believe Ashwin faced resistance from coaching staff and top players within India’s Test setup.
Ashwin’s retirement set off a long list of high-profile and below-radar retirements from the Team India setup. Former Test captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli left cricket’s longest formats five (5) months after Ashwin retired. These sudden exits from Test cricket sparked heated fan conversations about the future of Team India without their established star players.
Some analysts believe the exits of top players may bode well for India across formats; however, others think few senior cricketers and coaches are responsible for these retirement decisions.
Manoj Tiwary Blames Gautam Gambhir for Forcing Ashwin, Other Veterans to Retire
Former Team India player Manoj Tiwary blasted current head coach Gautam Gambhir for the long list of retirement decisions from top players shortly after his appointment. Gambhir took India’s top coaching job after the T20 World Cup 2024, and at least four (4) top players have left all formats of the game since he took the job.
Tiwary lays the blame for these high-profile retirements squarely on Gambhir:
“If the senior players are there, if Ashwin is there, if Virat is there or if Rohit is there, then these guys have played so much cricket, these guys are established much more than the head coach or the other staff, these guys will raise questions if they don’t agree to a point. You just made sure that these guys are not there, basically,” Manoj said during a recent interview.
Tiwary seems to suggest that Gambhir encouraged the retirement of top cricketers after his arrival to avoid a battle of egos within his squads. The former cricketer didn’t stop there and took further shots at India’s current head coach.
Lot of controversies arisen since Gambhir appointment – Tiwary alleges
Manoj believes coach Gambhir is a controversy magnet, as he claims several issues became mainstream after he took up India’s head coaching role:
“I have observed that since this coach took on the role, a lot of controversies have arisen. Many things that are happening are not good for Indian cricket. I believe that since the time he has been the head coach, Ashwin has taken a retirement. Rohit and Virat have also done so,” Tiwary added.
Ravichandran Ashwin Clears the Air Post-Retirement from National Team
Ravichandran Ashwin has said in clear terms that no one triggered his retirement from the national team:
“No one told me that you should go, no one told me that there is no place for you in the team. Actually, before I took the decision 2-3 people told me not to take it, but I took my decision. In fact, they wanted me to play more,” Ashwin told his audience on YouTube. He went further to say former Test skipper Sharma and coach Gambhir tried to talk him out of retirement, but he already made up his mind:
“Rohit Sharma also told me to think about it, Gauti bhai also told me to think again. But I didn’t talk much about it with Ajit Agarkar. The [retirement] decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. These are all very individual decisions,” Tiwary concluded.
Have the Ashwin Replacements Been Any Good So Far?
Replacing a cricketer who secured 500+ wickets for your national team is no easy feat, but Team India seems to have the right player lineup. Several players with similar qualities Ashwin possessed throughout his international career have stepped up to the challenge.
Names like Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar rotate the role Ashwin left vacant after retirement. Team India has not sorely missed Ashwin, as the team charts its future without several top stars to rely on.
