R Ashwin talks about his retirement plans ahead of India vs Bangladesh Test series: 'I will leave, that's all'

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Ravichandran Ashwin answered a question on his retirement plans ahead of the upcoming India vs Bangladesh Test series, and said that he hasn't pre-planned the decision, and is taking it one day at a time.

The veteran off-spinner, who will be celebrating his 38th birthday on Tuesday, September 38, said that with age he has made extra effort to keep himself up to the mark physically and mentally. The Chennai-born cricketer added that he will retire from international cricket the day he gets no motivation to improve.

“There is nothing like that in my mind. I am only thinking about one day at a time because when you get older, you have to put in extra effort every single day. It’s not the same. I have put in a lot of effort in the last 3-4 years. I haven’t decided (retirement), but the day I feel that today I don’t want to improve, I will leave. That’s all," Ashwin said during a conversation with Vimal Kumar on his YouTube channel when asked if one can expect him to play till 40.

"I know how my life changed after that tough phase (2018-20). I'm just holding on to my joy of cricket, and the moment I feel I'm losing it, I'll step away. We all play, and we all have to leave. Somebody else will come and do well. It's Indian cricket," he concluded.

Ashwin has so far picked 516 wickets in 100 Test matches, and is currently ranked ninth among the highest wicket-takers in the history of Test cricket. Only four spinners have picked more Test wickets than him.

He is just four wickets behind Courtney Walsh's tally of 519 scalps. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon is the only active player with more Test wickets than Ashwin. He has picked 530 wickets in 129 matches. But will Ashwin surpass Anil Kumble's tally of 619 wickets to become the Indian record-holder in the format?

"I haven't set any targets for myself. Anil Bhai wants me to break his record, but I'm just happy living day by day. I don't want to lose my love for the game by setting targets," Ashwin explained.