Ashwin made his retirement announcement in the presence of skipper Rohit.
| Photo Credit: ANI
MELBOURNE: The morning after has been one of reflection and praise. Once R. Ashwin retired from international cricket at Brisbane’s Gabba on Wednesday evening, the overwhelming reaction was unanimous respect.
But there was a lot that happened in the lead-up to the announcement that stunned the cricketing universe.
Just as Wednesday was oscillating between rain and the odd streak of sunshine, and the third Test was vacillating between India’s resilience and Australia’s win-at-all-cost approach, there was a sudden twist.
X, formerly Twitter, was agog with an expected ‘big announcement’, and the instant speculation was about a probable release of the ICC Champions Trophy schedule.
As the minutes ticked by and the rains had the last word in a game that ended in a draw, the latest inference was about a probable retirement of a legendary player.
Talk veered towards Rohit Sharma. He had left his batting gloves near the dugout after his dismissal in the first innings. Was that a sign? Then analysis rested on Virat Kohli. He had relinquished Test captaincy through a statement on social media, and was something even more drastic afoot?
Eureka moment
Suddenly, the eureka moment occurred when a television grab of Kohli and Ashwin engaged in a chat emerged from the pavilion.
The former leant sideways and hugged the latter, and then the penny dropped. In the press box, all the scribes dug into their inner Sherlock Holmes.
So this is finally about Ashwin, one of the legends of the game! The assumption proved right when he came along with Rohit and met the media. Soon there was a massive breaking-news moment.
This was slightly different from what Sourav Ganguly did at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in 2008. He addressed the press ahead of a Test against Australia. Just as the interaction wound to a close and reporters were removing their recorders, the former India captain paused and said: “Just one last thing, lads.”
Quickly he declared that the Test series against Australia would be his last in the India colours.
Once he left, the correspondents were hollering into their phones about Dada’s retirement. Perhaps there is something about contests involving Australia which forces the greats to mull about life choices.
Even M.S. Dhoni at Melbourne in 2014, left after a routine press conference, and then the BCCI issued a note about his retirement from Tests. Reporters immediately rushed to the team hotel but Dhoni lapsed into silence.
Published – December 20, 2024 10:05 am IST
