Ashwin Retires: “Convinced Him to Stay” - Rohit Reveals Veteran Spinner Retirement Decision Came Way Earlier

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Ravichandran Ashwin stunned the cricketing world on Wednesday (December 18) after the veteran spinner called time on his international career, but India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed the retirement decision may have been made way earlier.

"If I am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game," R Ashwin told India skipper Rohit Sharma before his surprise international retirement, refusing to let anyone else write his script after 14 years of service to the game.

It is understood that retirement was on Ashwin's mind after the home series against New Zealand, which India shockingly lost 0-3. The veteran had made it clear to the team management that if he was not guaranteed a place in the playing eleven during the Australia series, he would not even travel Down Under.

India played Washington Sundar ahead of Ashwin in Perth before the veteran returned for the pink ball Test, at Rohit's insistence. Ravindra Jadeja played in the Brisbane Test and as Rohit stated after the drawn third Test in Gabba, nobody knew how the squad would shape up for the remaining two games in Melbourne and Sydney.

"There was no nudge from the selection committee. Ashwin is a legend in Indian cricket and he has the right to take his own call," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Meanwhile, skipper Rohit also indicated that Ashwin's retirement decision was made way before he linked up with the team in Perth, and he himself needed to convince the senior spinner to play in the day-night Test in Adelaide.

"Speaking about Ash, he was very very sure about this decision. I heard this when I came to Perth. Obviously, I was not there for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was on his mind since then. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it; I'm pretty sure, Ash, when he went in position, will be able to answer that," Rohit told reporters at the post-match press conference.

"He understands what the team is thinking. He understands what kind of combinations we are thinking of. When we came here as well, we were not sure about which spinner was going to play. We just wanted to assess and see what kind of conditions we get in front of us, But yeah, when I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had, and I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink ball Test," he added.

"It just happened so that if you know where he felt that, 'if I'm not needed right now in the series, I'm better off. Saying goodbye to the game, but obviously, we've not been to Melbourne yet, so we don't know what sort of conditions we expect there and what sort of combination, but just keeping Ash in particularly in mind, giving him that respect that this if this is what he thinks, we should allow him to think that way and we should all stand by."

(With PTI inputs)