Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], December 20: Former Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his emotions after noticing the names of cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev in his call log on the final day of his international career.
Ashwin, 38, announced his decision to retire from international cricket after the Brisbane Test ended in a draw on Wednesday. The celebrated off-spinner posted a message on his official social media account, expressing his surprise at the unexpected callers. “If someone had told me 25 years ago that I would have a smartphone and that the call log on the last day of my career would look like this, I would have had a heart attack right then. Thanks, @sachin_rt and @therealkapildev paaji,” Ashwin wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Earlier in the day, Ashwin joined India’s captain Rohit Sharma at the post-match press conference, where he made his retirement announcement. Speculation about his retirement had been growing after Ashwin became emotional and received a hug from Virat Kohli.
Throughout his illustrious career, Ashwin played 106 Tests, taking 537 wickets and scoring 3,503 runs. He is ranked seventh in the all-time Test wicket-taker list and second for India, behind Anil Kumble. Ashwin’s career also includes 181 limited-overs matches, with 228 wickets across 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is.
Ashwin was an integral part of India’s rise in Test cricket, especially between 2014 and 2019, and was a key player in India’s 2011 World Cup victory and the 2013 Champions Trophy triumph.
With 765 international wickets, Ashwin leaves behind a remarkable legacy as India’s second-highest wicket-taker, behind Kumble (953). His retirement marks the end of an era in Indian cricket, leaving a lasting impact on the sport.