BRISBANE: And just like that it happened. On a wet, rainy, frustrating day of Test cricket in Brisbane, came the official statement. R Ashwin will no longer represent India again. A 106-Test veteran, a magician with 537 wickets had decided to call it a day off the field while not being a part of the playing XI.
"This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level," Ashwin told the media at The Gabba on Thursday evening while seated next to captain Rohit Sharma.
"I do feel there is a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to expose and probably showcase that in club-level cricket but this will be the last day," he added.
To be fair, no one saw this coming. Not at this point, midway through the series while there was still a trophy left to be won. So much so that the first question was ‘why now’ and not 'when'. In that regard, Ashwin had gone out on his terms - something Sharma acknowledged and respected and so did the team.
In fact, Sharma learnt about Ashwin's decision when he landed in Perth, but had convinced the veteran spinner and his long-time teammate to stay on for the pink-ball Test.
"When I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had and I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink-ball test match and then after it just happened so that he felt that 'if I am not needed, the right time to say goodbye to the game'. Keeping Ash in mind, giving him that respect, that if this is what he thinks, we should allow him to think that way. It's important when a player like him, who has had so many moments with the Indian team and he has been a truly big match winner for us, is allowed to make those decisions on his own and if it was now, so be it," explained Sharma, who was, to an extent, visibly emotional as well.
Indeed, Ashwin, being perhaps the biggest match-winner with the ball India has had in the longest format since he made his debut, has every right to go out on his own terms.
While everyone, including Ashwin himself, has spoken in detail about how he is not looking too far ahead and enjoy every chance he gets on the field for a while now, the last couple of months hadn't been easy. Perhaps for the first time since his debut, Ashwin was no longer the primary off-spinner in Indian cricket. While the 38-year-old still has "some punch left in him", the team management had started to look ahead and plan for the future.
His fellow state teammate and youngster, Washington Sundar, played a big part for the team during the home series loss against New Zealand and was even preferred ahead of Ashwin in the first Test in Perth.
His partner-in-crime Ravindra Jadeja had long been preferred over him abroad but there was one lovely moment between the two in Brisbane. When Jadeja walked back after hitting a game-saving 77, Ashwin leaned across from the dugout to pat him on the back with a big smile.
One wonders if Jadeja, who had had a poor game with the ball, had not come up with that knock of substance, whether Ashwin would have still gone ahead with the retirement decision midway through the series. But what perhaps made the decision easier was the lack of home Tests till late 2025. Given where his body is at the moment, the ace off-spinner decided he has had enough.
"I have had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates even though I have lost some of them over the last few years. We are the last bunch of OGs, if we can say that, left out of the dressing room and I would be marking this as my date of having played at this level," Ashwin added.
For someone who signs off with more Player of the Series awards than anyone (11), India always expected more off Ashwin. Every time he walked onto the field, Ashwin was expected to win matches on his own. And when he didn't take a fifer, especially at home, he came under scrutiny.
Then there is the perception of "being an overthinker" and "someone who tries too many things" which Ashwin had to fight for the better part of his career before making peace with it. It is fitting that through this Test series till Thursday, visuals of him having long conversations with head coach Gautam Gambhir led many to perceive that Ashwin wants to be in the XI when in fact, he had informed Sharma about his decision in Perth.
While the perfect farewell would have been Ashwin walking off the field with the ball in his hand surrounded by his teammates, sport seldom works that way. As he walks into the sunset, he can be proud of all he has done, not just for the team but also for the sport as one of the greats of the game. He is still not done as a domestic cricketer.
There is a chance that he might turn up for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy next month to have one last attempt at winning that title. Then, there is the Indian Premier League where he will be back in the yellow of Chennai Super Kings.
For now, however, it is time to stand up and applaud what he has achieved at the highest level and in perhaps the toughest format of the sport. And as he said, December 18, 2024 will go down as his day in Indian cricket history.