Wow! The Indian fans were hoping for Rohit Sharma and company to either save the Gabba Test or pull off something outlandish against the mighty Aussies. Little did they know what was coming to haunt them. Well, the match came to an anti-climatic end due to rain; a shocking development came in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin’s retirement. Yes, the masterful spinner, who adorned the Indian jersey 287 times, announced his retirement in the post-match press conference.
Many would regard Anil Kumble as India’s greatest spinner. However, Ravichandran Ashwin created his own vacuum. Ashwin never took a ten-wicket haul in an innings like Kumble, but with his masterful mind and control over his art, Ashwin became the face of the spin department across the globe. While his hot takes and tactful intelligence have always added spice to his character, Ashwin’s record speaks for itself. Across 287 international games for the nation, Ashwin took 765 wickets at a mind-boggling average and strike rate of 25.8 and 45.75, respectively (best among Indian bowlers with at least 450 wickets).
R Ashwin, Anil Kumble: Eerie similarities of their retirements!
Incredibly, Anil Kumble remains the only Indian with more wickets than Ashwin. Strikingly, both Ashwin and the great leg-spinner share several similarities when it comes to retirement. First of all, both the wily tweakers remain only the two Indians with over 500 Test wickets to their names. While Ashwin finished with 537 wickets, Kumble took 619.
Notably, both the spinners announced their retirement during the Border-Gavaskar Trophies (both coming in the middle of the BGT series). Not only that, the announcement came after the 3rd Tests. While Kumble hung up his boots after the Delhi Test match against Australia in 2008, Ashwin’s surprising call was made right after the Brisbane (3rd) Test.
More on R Ashwin’s retirement!
Now comes the most astonishing similarity of all. Incredibly, both Ashwin and Kumble dismissed a “Mitchell” as their last victim. At the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium (Arun Jaitley Stadium), Kumble caught and bowled Mitchell Johnson, ending the innings at 112/3. Meanwhile, Ashwin replaced Washington Sundar for the pink ball Test and his last Test wicket was “Mitchell” Marsh.
Indian players with most international wickets ft. Ashwin, Kumble
| Player | Span | Mat | Wkts | BBI | Ave | SR | 5 | 10 |
| Anil Kumble | 1990-2008 | 401 | 953 | 10/74 | 30.06 | 57.94 | 37 | 8 |
| R Ashwin | 2010-2024 | 287 | 765 | 7/59 | 25.8 | 45.75 | 37 | 8 |
| Harbhajan Singh | 1998-2016 | 365 | 707 | 8/84 | 32.59 | 58.77 | 28 | 5 |
| Kapil Dev | 1978-1994 | 356 | 687 | 9/83 | 28.83 | 56.68 | 24 | 2 |
| Zaheer Khan | 2000-2014 | 303 | 597 | 7/87 | 31.48 | 48.49 | 12 | 1 |
(Credit to @kaustats)
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