Cricket
Breaking His Silence : Ravichandran Ashwin Explains The Reason Behind His Sudden Retirement Move
“I was pretty old, I must admit. But going on tours, and having to just sit out (a) lot more, eventually got to me,” Ashwin told former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid in a chat on his YouTube channel.
Having to sit out of Test matches on away tours “eventually got to me”, says Indian spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin of his abrupt international retirement in the middle of the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Ashwin, only the second Indian bowler to have taken over 500 Test wickets after Anil Kumble, surprised everyone by announcing his retirement after the third Test in Brisbane last December.
“I was pretty old, I must admit. But going on tours, and having to just sit out (a) lot more, eventually got to me,” Ashwin told former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid in a chat on his YouTube channel.
“I mean, not in terms of not wanting to contribute to the team, but you’re thinking if I would rather be at home, spending time with children. They are also growing up, and what am I actually doing? So I just felt like okay… In my head, I always decided that I would retire at 34-35. But just the fact that I could not play a lot in between…” he added.