'Never Been A Person Who...': Ravichandran Ashwin Breaks Silence On Sudden Retirement From International Cricket - WATCH

Ravichandran Ashwin finished his 14-year-long glittering international career with 765 international wickets across all three formats of the game.

Ravichandran Ashwin stunned the cricketing world by announcing his sudden retirement from international cricket following the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at Gabba, Brisbane. The 38-year-old finished his 14-year-long glittering international career with 765 international wickets across all three formats of the game. 

After announcing his retirement on Wednesday, December 18, Ashwin was back in Chennai by Thursday morning and was received at home by his family and friends amid much fanfare. 

In a chat with former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket podcast, the off-spinner has now opened up on his retirement decision. 

Ashwin revealed he had considered retirement in the past but finally made the decision when his creativity could no longer be fulfilled. 

"I've never been a person who holds onto things, I've never felt insecure in life. I don't believe what is mine today is going to be mine tomorrow. That has probably been one of my elevating factors all these years," Ashwin said. 

"I always wanted to leave things behind as nonchalantly as I can because I do not believe in people celebrating me, I don't believe in the attention we get sometimes in India. It is the game that always stood ahead of me, all the time.

I did contemplate [retirement] a few times. For me, the day I woke up and felt the creative side of me didn't have a future or direction, that would be the day I would give it up. I suddenly felt that creative side didn't have a lot of upsides to explore," he added. 

"It is the game that has always stood ahead of me" 

An incredibly humble reflection of his retirement from Ravi Ashwin  pic.twitter.com/Xj5Od0kw8n — Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) December 23, 2024

Ashwin also mentioned how his deep-rooted passion for cricket not only improved him as a player, but gave meaning to his life.

"I just gave it my all, despite knowing it's not the popular or accepted method. My journey is completely mine. I've seen a lot of cricketers over the years with exceptional skill and talent, but the ability to articulate or teach another person about it is something that is very unique and comes across to people only if they have explored it themselves," he said.

"The amount of exploration I have had to do to be very successful has left me with a wide variety of knowledge to be able to say, with confidence, that this is a game I love and can explore and brutally talk about for the rest of my life.

I've got no regrets because I've had to do it the hard way, but it has left me with the idea that the game has been my calling. People find their calling at different stages of their life but I'm so glad this game found me and it has given me meaning to life.

I've played Test cricket for so long it's even taught me how to construct and live my life. It's the most beautiful thing that has happened for me," he added.