Former Australia captain Aaron Finch recently shared a cheeky farewell message for Ravichandran Ashwin after the legendary Indian spinner announced his retirement from international cricket. The two cricketers had crossed paths in the IPL, notably in 2018 when they both played together for the Punjab Kings. However, the duo had a memorable exchange during the 2020 edition of the IPL, when Finch, representing Royal Challengers Bangalore, found himself on the receiving end of one of Ashwin’s warnings for run out at non-striker’s end.
The incident occurred in a match between RCB and Delhi Capitals, where Ashwin, fielding at the non-striker’s end, noticed Finch had left the crease early. In a move that sparked debate, Ashwin stopped just short of dislodging the bails and instead offered Finch a gentle reminder to stay within the crease.
In his farewell post on Instagram, Finch paid tribute to Ashwin’s distinguished career, acknowledging both his immense skill on the field and his engaging personality off it. “One of the all-time careers. Congratulations R Ashwin. It was a pleasure to play with and against you,” Finch wrote, alongside a photo from their IPL encounter, which hilariously featured Ashwin warning Finch.
Finch speaks on the picture in detail
The former Aussie captain humorously recalled the incident on 7Cricket, thanking Ashwin for not running him out: “It was quite funny because I think he ran Jos Buttler out before that Mankading in IPL, and then I did it. He came here after the game and said, ‘I don’t run my mates out’, so I am very, very thankful for that!”
Finch also spoke further on his admiration for Ashwin, reflecting on their time together in the IPL.
“He’s someone who was unbelievable on the field, but then, off the field, he loved to sit down and talk cricket for hours. I had the pleasure of playing IPL with him, spending quite a bit of time,” Finch said.
“Overall, his contributions, his record speak for itself. The amount of wickets he has got, it’s just unbelievable.”
Ashwin’s career has been nothing short of extraordinary, with over 700 international wickets, making him one of the most successful bowlers in cricket history.
