Ashwin Retires: BCCI Thanks Veteran Spinner For His "Invaluable" Contributions to Indian Cricket Team

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) thanked Ravichandran Ashwin for his "invaluable" contirbutions to Indian cricket team following the veteran spinner's retirement from international cricket.

Ashwin on Wednesday (December 18) called time on his international career following the conclusion of the rain-hit Brisbane Test, which ended in draw after the final session was cut short due to another spell of shower at the Gabba.

Ashwin made the announcement in the post-match press conference along with skipper Rohit Sharma after the game ended in a draw. Ashwin played the second match of the five-Test series in Adelaide but was replaced by Ravindra Jadeja for the match in Brisbane.

Moments after the 38-year-old announced his retirement, the BCCI took to social media to pay tribute to Ashwin, who they labelled as "Team India's invaluable all-rounder" before congratulating the veteran on his career.

"𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙬𝙞𝙣. A name synonymous with mastery, wizardry, brilliance, and innovation. The ace spinner and #TeamIndia's invaluable all-rounder announces his retirement from international cricket. Congratulations on a legendary career, @ashwinravi99," BCCI posted on X.

Ashwin, who was a prominent member of the India Test setup for at least a decade, leaves international cricket as the seventh highest wicket-taker in the longest format, and is only second behind legend Anil Kumble for Indians with most wickets in Test cricket with 537 scalps in 106 games.

Apart from his contributions in the red ball, Ashwin also represented India in white ball games, taking 228 wickets in 181 appearances across ODIs and T20Is. He made 116 ODI appearances and took 156 wickets at an average of 33.20, with best figures of 4/25. He is the 13th-highest wicket-taker in ODIs for India.

In 65 T20Is, he took 72 wickets at an average of 23.22. His best figures are 4/8. He also scored 184 runs in 19 innings at an average of 26.28, with best score of 31. He is the sixth-highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is.

Although he was primarily in the team for his bowling, Ashwin was no mug with the bat as he ends his career with 6 Test hundreds with the most recent century coming at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in September against Bangladesh.

With 765 scalps in 287 matches, he is India's second-highest wicket-taker across all formats, next to Kumble (953). He also won the 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy with India.

The Tamil Nadu cricketer, who made his entry into the big stage via the Chennai Super Kings in IPL, will still continue to play in the Indian Premier League for CSK, having been bought by his hometown side in the IPL Mega Auction earlier this year. Ashwin also revealed that he will continue to play domestic cricket.