Instead of being moved on, Ravichandran Ashwin decided to end things on his own terms. That’s why he decided to announce his retirement from international cricket after the India vs Australia 3rd Test. But what prompted it? Was it his fitness? Did he think he wasn’t among Team India‘s top two spinners anymore? Or was he feeling that he wasn’t able to perform at the level he aspired to?
Ashwin’s backup ready
The truth may be that it’s all of these things combined. Ashwin is yet to expand on the matter, and until then we are all in the dark. But another legendary Indian off-spinner, Harbhajan Singh, feels that apart from his own performance, it could be that the emergence of Washington Sundar might be one of the biggest contributing factors as to why Ashwin decided to call time on his Test career.
“When a big player retires, there’s always the question, who next? India has produced many such legends, and the tradition will continue. India does not lack talent; there’s a bundle of talent in our country,” Harbhajan told RevSportz.
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Washington Sundar’s rise behind Ashwin’s retirement?
This year, we have seen that Ashwin has taken some time to get into rhythm. It happened against England, Bangladesh, and then New Zealand. It didn’t cost Team India the first two series, but in the last one, they were humiliated. As the Kiwis whitewashed them 0-3. In that series, Washington was preferred over Ashwin, and then again in Perth. With his performance on the slide and Washington emerging, Ashwin might have thought it was time to move on and hand the responsibility to the young offie.
“The fact that India won’t play a home Test series until October 2025, and the transition we are seeing in the spin department with Washington Sundar being preferred, as we saw in the first Test here, he might have thought that Sundar could be the preferred option in the upcoming England Test series as well. Maybe that could be the reason, and that’s what I’ve heard from different people. But if we look at his career, it has been phenomenal. What a superb career he has had,” Harbhajan added.
