So, India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin finally called on time in his international cricketing career that spanned 14 years, amassing successes across formats. The announcement, however, came in the middle of an intense ongoing India vs Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy, surprising many cricket pundits and fans. As the third Test match at Gabba, Brisbane, ended in a draw, the 38-year-old India veteran decided to hang his boots from international cricket, leaving aside a legacy hard to match.
Ashwin – The Second Highest Wicket-taker for India After Anil Kumble
Ravichandran Ashwin – the man who used to give many sleepless nights to batters around the world, has become India’s second-highest wicket-taker after Anil Kumble. Ashwin’s international wicket tally is 765 across formats, while Kumble scalped 957 wickets.
Ashwin took 537 wickets in 106 Test matches, including 37 five-wicket hauls and eight 10-wicket match hauls. He maintained an impressive bowling average of 24. His best bowling figures remain 7 for 59 against New Zealand at Indore in 2016.
Coming to ODIs, Ashwin took 151 wickets from 116 games at an average of 32.91.
In 65 T20Is, Ashwin picked up 72 wickets at an impressive average of 23.22.
Not to Forget Ashwin’s Batting Prowess That Played a Crucial Part in India’s Test Wins
While Ashwin was the champion spinner, his contributions with the bat often helped India stage a recovery from a batting collapse. Recently, he helped India stage a smart recovery after Bangladesh had India reduced to 144 for 6 in the first innings. Ashwin scored a hundred and stitched a crucial 200-run partnership with Jadeja to help India put up a massive 376 and win the first Test match by 280 runs.
He scored over 3503 runs in 103 Test matches at an average of 25.92, amassing six centuries and 14 half-centuries. His top score remains 124 he got against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in 2013.
Ashwin’s Retirement Leaves a Void in India’s Spin Bowling Arsenal
With Ashwin retiring from international cricket, India is left with a monumental task to find bowler/s who can fill his big boots. His spin bowling partner Ravindra Jadeja is also aging fast. So, these are transition times as far as India’s spin bowling arsenal is concerned, at least in Test cricket.
