Rohit Sharma & Gautam Gambhir didn’t force me into international retirement, reveals Ravi Ashwin

Former Team India spinner Ravi Ashwin has opened up on his retirement call, stating that there was no external influence on him to take the sudden decision. For the unversed, Ashwin announced his retirement mid-way through the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Down Under.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed that though a few people didn’t want him to retire from the game, he took the decision on his own. He also added that Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir requested him to think twice on his ultimate decision. 

"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 said on his YouTube channel.

"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 decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. These are all very individual decisions," he added.

While Ashwin has played 106 Tests, he pocketed 537 wickets at an average of 24. In ODIs, he scalped 156 wickets, while he racked up 72 wickets from 65 T20Is. His last international game came against Australia at Adelaide Oval in December 2024.

A few months after Ashwin’s retirement, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also followed the queue ahead of the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy. Selectors were quick to announce Shubman Gill as the new Test captain.

Gill, in his maiden Test series as a captain, went on to level the five-match series against England 2-2 after a narrow six-run win in the fifth and final Test at The Oval.

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