Sunil Gavaskar has been critical of the timing of R Ashwin’s retirement call, claiming that the spinner should have made the decision after the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin would make the shock call after the Gabba Test on Wednesday, December 18, after the match ended in a draw.
The rumours had started to come in on Wednesday morning when Ashwin was seen sharing a warm embrace with Virat Kohli in the dressing room as the game was halted by rain. Ashwin would then appear alongside Rohit Sharma in the post-match press conference and announce his decision to the reporters. Speaking to the broadcasters, Gavaskar said that the shock call had now left the Indian squad one man short. The Indian legend feels that Ashwin could have had a chance to make it to the side during the Sydney, where the pitch could have offered support to spinners.
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“He could have said, listen after the end of the series, I won’t be available for selection for India. What it does is that, similarly when MS Dhoni retired at the end of the 3rd Test in 2014-15 series, it leaves you one short. The selection committee has picked so many players for a tour with a purpose. If there are any injuries they can select from the reserve players to have in the team. So, Sydney is somewhere where there is a lot of support on offer for spinners. So India could have played with 2 spinners. You never know. He could have been there for sure. I don’t know how the pitch in Melbourne will be like.”
“Normally, you tend to look at the end of the series. That’s it. In the middle, it is not usual,” said Gavaskar.
When asked if Washington Sundar was ahead of Ashwin in the pecking order, Gavaskar said that could be the case. The Indian legend ended by hailing Ashwin as a fine cricketer.
“Maybe Washington Sundar is ahead of him. Rohit said he is flying out tomorrow. So that’s the end of Ashwin as an international cricketer. He has been one heck of a cricketer,” said Gavaskar.
During the press conference, Rohit had defended Ashwin’s call midway through the series.
