Mumbai: The footsteps in the corridors of the Gabba in Brisbane would have sounded louder than before for Ravichandran Ashwin. This was, after all, the last time he would experience it as an international player.
A camera followed Ashwin as he walked to the press conference room to announce his retirement on Wednesday, and then went back to the Indian team’s dining area, all the while capturing the sombre mood that had nothing to do with the dark clouds that had brought a premature end to India’s third Test against Australia.
The atmosphere remained subdued to respect the end of a remarkable cricket career.
In his 106 Tests, the 38-year-old from Chennai took a remarkable 537 wickets, becoming the seventh most successful bowler in Test history and a member of an elite 500-plus wicket club with just nine members.
Through that final stroll through the belly of the Brisbane Cricket Stadium, Ashwin received warm handshakes from everyone who passed by. Matthew Hayden was one. Chris Gaffney and Richard Illingworth, the umpires in a match that was Ashwin’s last involvement as an India team player. And so did Ranjan Madugalle, the former Sri Lanka batter who is the ICC match referee.
Then walked up his Aussie counterpart and close friend Nathan Lyon and skipper Pat Cummins, who presented Ashwin a team shirt signed by all the Australia players.
There were hugs and calm smiles all around, and Ashwin, with every inch of his 6-foot-2 frame, remained upbeat. Especially when he walked into the team dining room to a round of applause from the players, who till a few minutes earlier, were his teammates.
“I still can’t realise what has just happened,” young Yashasvi Jaiswal would tell Ashwin, before the spinner took centre-stage.
“I don’t know how to go about this, it’s easier in a team huddle,” he would say, standing before the Indian squad. “This truly is an emotional moment for me.”
Ashwin’s first foreign Test was the Boxing Day match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2011. He recalled memories of that tour, which also came at a time when India were heading into transition like they are now.
“I saw (so many players) transition, Rahul (Dravid) bhai left, Sachin (Tendulkar) paaji left,” he said.
“Everybody’s time comes. Today was truly my time. But I’ve enjoyed it, thoroughly enjoyed it.
“I’ve built some great relationships and friendships, over the last four-five years notably. I’m leaving behind some of my teammates with whom I’ve been playing (for long). Every passing year, I realise how much more I value their friendship and how much more I value them as a player.”
Ashwin said he will leave the team and take a flight home, but assured his now former teammates that he will continue to cheer for them. “The cricketer in me, as an Indian international cricketer, might have come to an end. But the cricket nut in me will never come to an end. I will be looking forward to each of your performances.”
The cheers and applause resumed as Ashwin was asked to cut a cake, to commemorate the career of a man who took as much pride in his batting as the respect he commanded as a bowler. A 2011 World Cup winner who remained dogged despite injury just to get his team across the line in the famous draw in the Sydney Test in 2021.
As he signed off after his brief media statement, he said: “I wouldn’t be taking any questions. It is a very emotional moment. I don’t think I am in a position to answer any questions in the right way.
“As a cricketer I might stop, but I might go on to be involved with the game because this is the game that has given me everything.”
