R Ashwin who received the Padma Shri award on Monday, has revealed that he wanted to retire from international cricket after the conclusion of the Chennai Test against Bangladesh where he scored a century and picked up a six-wicket haul. The all-rounder had send shock waves announcing his retirement in the middle of the Australia tour as he returned mid-way through the series before featuring in the ongoing IPL for Chennai Super Kings.
Ashwin had previously revealed that retirement thoughts were playing un his mind twice, once during the home series against Australia in 2023 and then a year later when India humbled the Bazballers. Speaking on the franchise’s podcast show Mike Testing 123 with former Australian and batsman Mike Hussey, who is currently the batting coach at the franchise, Ashwin spoke his decision to retire.
“To be very honest, I wanted to do it after my 100th Test. And then I thought, Ok, let me give it a go in the home season. Because, I mean, you’re playing well and you’re getting wickets, you’re making runs. So I thought it does make sense to play a bit. I was having a lot of fun, but the whole hard yards that I had to put through to put myself on the park again, physically and mentally, one of the most important things for me that was pulling me down was the family time,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin then went on to reveal that how he wanted to carry on in the home season before the script went downhill in Australia. He also spoke about the emotional aspect, particularly after he warmed the bench during the first Test at Perth where was preferred over him. “I thought I’ll probably close off (with) the Test here. I ended up getting a six-wicket haul and a hundred. So it’s very tough to quit when you’re doing very well. So, I went on with the series and we lost against New Zealand. So one after the other, it was just building up. And then I thought, okay, let me go to Australia. Let me see how this goes. Because the last time I was in Australia, I had a great, great tour. And when I didn’t start in Perth, it was like, okay, this whole circle keeps going again. People add very little value to what you’re going through emotionally. They don’t really consider that because your emotions are yours and it doesn’t matter to anybody else. So I had been contemplating that and then I thought, okay, maybe it is time.
