Ravichandran Ashwin Retires: Will India Ever Get Thinker, Match-Winner Like Him?

There were many deemed more gifted, and several others who spun the ball more prodigiously than him. But you would be hard-pressed to name a contemporary spinner, nay cricketer, who thought and spoke more deeply about the game and his craft than Ravichandran Ashwin. Though he retired from the international arena aged 38, his decision largely evoked surprise and regret, and that is the legacy the man from Chennai leaves behind. (More Cricket News)

A while before the news was made public, there were visuals of Virat Kohli hugging Ashwin in a sombre mood in the dressing room, even as the third Test against Australia wound to a rain-ridden draw. This could and should have been hint enough for the announcement to come, but the fact that it still led to disbelief was testament to the off-spinner's unique match-winning abili💞ties.

Batterꦯs always enjoy a greater share of the limelight and Kohli, Rohit Sharma continue to be afforded disproportionately high airtime, but when it comes to Test matches in India, there is no doubting Ashwin's singular and unmatched impact. Routinely imbuing terror and befuddlement among✨ opposition batters, especially when operating in tandem with partner-in-crime Ravindra Jadeja, Ashwin snared 383 wickets at home in 65 Tests, which includes 29 five-fers and six 10-wicket match hauls.

But more than his wickets (and runs), it was the cerebral aspect that endeared him to fans and commanded respect from players and experts a𝓰like. Vocal about his approach to the sport and calling out the "overthinking" tag attached to him from some quarters, Ashwin steadfastly put mind a💦bove body and made the most of his arcane skills to outwit world-class batters like Steve Smith.

How He Got There

Ashwin grew up playing tennis-ball cricket in the streets of Chennai. Born to avid cricket-loving parents, 'Ash' got all the support he could have hoped for, and more. He has gone on record to express gratitude for the lengths to which his father, a former club cricketer, and mother have gone to put Ashwin's career front and centre. "They have eliminated anything that comes in the way of my cricket. That has been the sole purpose of their li﷽ves ever since I can remember," Ashwin had said after 🐲becoming the second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to take 500 Test wickets.

An engineer by qualification, Ashwin was an opener with the bat before he turned to off-spin. He picked up six wickets on his first-class debut in 2006, representing Tamil Nadu against Haryana in what was then known as the Ranji Trophy Super League. But he truly burst onto the scene with the Indian Premier League, where he was picked by Chennai Super Kings in the 2009 edition.

This is when Ashwin's long-running alliance with Mahendra Singh Dhoni began. The former India captain was at the h🐬elm of CSK and soon saw what the offie brought to the table. Dhoni employed Ashwin to winning effect, as the spinner won two titles with the franchise over a six-season association. The Dhoni-Ashwin partnership extended to the international level, as the-then 23-year-old donned India colours 🎀for the first time in an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2010.

Fourteen years hence, Ashwin has followed in Dhoni's foo🎃tsteps, by way of retiring in the middle of a Test tour Down Under. Dhoni had done it 10 years ago, also at the conclusion of the third match of the series like Ashwin. The duo are thus two of very few Indian c🌌ricketers who chose to exit the stage on their own terms, when people were left asking 'why?', instead of 'why not?'. It is perhaps fitting that they are set to become teammates again at IPL 2025, donning the same yellow jersey that had united them 16 years back.