- By Gurmeet Batra
- Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India’s spin great Ravichandran Ashwin has addressed the rumours surrounding his shocking international retirement, as well as the decision by batting bigwigs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to retire from Test cricket, sparked by speculations that head coach Gautam Gambhir played a role in these decisions.
The spinner's surprise exit, announced mid-series during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, saw him return to India after the Gabba draw, leaving the series at 1-1. Ashwin's series was characterised by sporadic appearances, featuring in just one of the first three Tests – he missed the Perth opener, returned for Adelaide's loss, and was dropped for Melbourne.
The short nature of Ashwin's decision caught many off guard, with cricket pundits left doubting the timing of his exit.
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"One of my strongest assets, I feel, is my ability to make decisions. Whether it's right or wrong is for people to debate. But at the end of the day, it's my life. I need to do it on my terms. The moment, I think, at Perth, when we had Jaddu and myself as the lead spinners in the side, and Washy played that game in Perth, and then the next game, again, I came in, and then I had to again make way, was kind of suggestive or indicative to me that my time was up,” Ashwin said at RevSportz Conclave ‘Trailblazers.’
“And if somebody else had to come and take up that place, by all means, they need their space and time. And I'm not one of those guys who will hang around, you know, wanting to see if I can make a comeback. I've had far too many. I've come far, far too much in my life to be able to, you know, dilly-dally around with all those things," Ashwin added.
Nearly a year on, the debate surrounding Kohli and Rohit’s Test retirements continues to simmer, with many cricket pundits and fans convinced the decisions were impacted by external factors. Many believe the involvement of BCCI selector chief Ajit Agarkar or head coach Gautam Gambhir.
The duo's lengthy labours with form ended in India's fatal 1-3 series loss BGT, with Rohit and Kohli announcing their retirements.
Ashwin has lent credence to the assumption that Gambhir affected the Test retirements of senior players, including himself, hinting at the head coach's desire for a shift.
"If somebody has to have angst against Gautam, it's me, right? I come out on his second or third tour as coach..." Ashwin said.
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“Gautam, the coach, has a job to do for me in many ways, and even if he thought that I must move on or Virat must move on or Rohit must move on, it's okay; it's fine because he has a job to do. And at that particular instance, if I felt bitter about it, that's also okay because it's my emotion. But if you detach yourself from that, it's clear to me that he has a job to do, and maybe I do not have a future in his regime,” he added.