R Ashwin Explains His Sudden Retirement Announcement, Revealed He Initially Had Different Plans

Former Team India cricketer R Ashwin recently offered enormous details from the time he was contemplating his retirement from international cricket. The veteran revealed he intended to retire way before, particularly in the Chennai Test, where he scored a ton and sealed the win for India. But he went on to play for the Indian side when they toured Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.

R Ashwin Revealed He Wanted To Retire After Chennai Test

R Ashwin's international retirement was rather hasty as India struggled against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Men in Blue's troubles in red-ball cricket were apparent as they failed to make a mark while Down Under. Team India faced another setback when Ashwin announced his international retirement after the Gabba Test. Ashwin revealed what pushed him to continue after the Chennai Test.

"I thought I’d probably close off with the Chennai 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. I went on with the series, and we lost against New Zealand. 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," R Ashwin said while speaking to Michael Hussey in the Mike Testing 123 podcast.

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Why Ashwin Chose To Retire During BGT?

Ashwin also revealed what drove him to retire during the BGT series while Down Under. The veteran expressed that his exclusion from the Perth Test fueled his emotions and how people barely value what they are going through in person.

"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," Ashwin added.

After retiring from the international format, R Ashwin has shifted his focus to franchise cricket and has committed himself to the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. The MS Dhoni-led CSK will be in action next at the MA Chinnaswamy Stadium, where they will face the Punjab Kings on April 30, 2025.  

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