New Delhi: My father isn’t well versed with the nuances of speaking to the media and should be pardoned for claiming humiliation as reason for R Ashwin’s retirement from international cricket, the off-spinner said.
Ashwin’s father Ravichandran claimed that Ashwin was forced to retire after prolonged humiliation, saying he wasn’t privy to the decision announced after the third Test between India and Australia ended in a draw on Wednesday.
“I too came to know at the last minute. The way in which he gave that (retirement), there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation,” Ravichandran told CNN News18.
“The sudden change – retirement – gave us a shock. 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,” he added.
Ashwin has stunned the world with his abrupt retirement note, saying that he had still some cricket left in him but wanted to end his international career and pursue club cricket, after being picked up by Chennai Super Kings in the IPL auction last month.
My dad isn’t media trained, dey father enna da ithelaam 😂😂.
I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of “dad statements” .🤣
Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone 🙏 https://t.co/Y1GFEwJsVc
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 19, 2024
The 37-year-old’s place in the Indian team was taken away, with Washington Sundar preferred over him at Perth.
India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that he had planned to retire earlier but he forced the star spinner to play in the day-night game, after which he was again dropped from the team for the Brisbane game.
“…this was on his mind and there are obviously a lot of things that went behind it. When I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had and I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink ball Test match,” Rohit said on Wednesday.
“Then after that it just happened so that he felt that if I (Ashwin) am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game,” he added.
‘Ignore dad comments’
Ravichandran’s comments after Ashwin’s shock retirement created a controversy, though the cricketer tried to play it down.
“My father isn’t media trained, dey father inneda ithelaam (what’s all this, father). I never thought you will follow this rich tradition of ‘dad statements’. Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone,” he wrote on X.
Ashwin’s father Ravichandran claimed that his son was forced to retire from international cricket after prolonged humiliation, Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
