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Ravichandran Ashwin’s father has claimed that his son was being humiliated for a long time which may have forced him to quit international cricket.
Retirement was on R Ashwin’s mind for a while. (PTI Photo)
India offspinner R Ashwin’s decision to retire from international cricket might have more to do than him running out of juice if his father is to be believed. In an exclusive interview with CNN News18, Ravichandran, Ashwin’s father, has alleged that his son was constantly being humiliated which may have contributed to him announcing his retirement midway through India’s ongoing tour of Australia.
Like others, Ashwin’s father was also caught by surprise when he heard about the decision.
“I too came to know last minute, actually,” Ravichandran told CNN News18. “What was going on in his mind I don’t know. He just announced. I too accepted it with full pleasure. I did not have any feeling at all for that. But the way he gave his retirement, one part I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued.”
While Ravichandran cannot pinpoint the exact reason behind Ashwin ending his India career, he did hint that being not getting a regular spot in the playing XI despite his stellar record must have felt like humiliation.
“(Retiring) is his (Ashwin’s) wish and desire, I cannot interfere in that, but the way in which he gave that, there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation,” he said.
Interestingly, India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday said Ashwin had retirement on his mind for a while it was him who convinced the star cricketer to delay it at least till the day-night Test against Australia held at the Adelaide Oval.
Though Ashwin’s family was in a state of shock, they knew the retirement was imminent the offspinner would have reached a breaking point because of the constant ‘humiliation’.
“Definitely, no doubt about it (being emotional for the famiky), because he was on the field for 14-15 years. The sudden change – retirement – gave us really kind of a shock. At the same time, we were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own,” Ravichandran said.
Ashwin retires from international cricket with 765 wickets across formats and India’s second-most successful bowler in Test history.
Ravichandran says he didn’t play much role in Ashwin’s cricket career except for taking him to practice sessions on his bike.
“I used to take him by bike and drop him off for practice. I did not get involve much in his cricket. What I did was to encourage him to focus on both studies and cricket. At home I used to talk to him that’s all. Rest he did it (on his own). I did not do anything because of his intelligence and brilliance he came up on his own. I did not help him that much in cricket, but on his own and with his brain work, he did everything (by himself),” he said.
