End of the road for Team India’s top match-winner

For much of the rain-tormented day at the Gabba, no one had a clue. We saw Yashasvi Jaiswal, sitting in the dugout, cock his wrists in an all-too-familiar manner before tossing the ball back to the off-spinner. We saw him having a conversation with KL Rahul but they were talking cricket. A midwicket chat about spin with Nathan Lyon was regular too. And then, finally, we saw visuals of Virat Kohli and R Ashwin share a few tears, a hug, and sit like the race was run. Little did we know that, at least for one of them, it was.

Ashwin did not play in Brisbane. Now, he will never play for India again. One of the greatest match-winners to represent the country called time on a career that saw him not only break records but also redefine what sporting success should look like.

The 38-year-old’s tally of 537 Test wickets is second to only Anil Kumble’s (619) for India. He was also the fastest Indian to 50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 Test wickets. His 37 five-wicket hauls place him second only to Muthiah Muralitharan (67). And his running out the non-striker made him a cult hero to bowlers around the world.

For around an hour before the news actually broke, the grapevine was abuzz but since the player himself was in the dressing room, there was no way to get any confirmation. Maybe, it was just another Ashwin experiment — something new, something unexpected.

Ashwin turned up for the post-match press conference at the Gabba with captain Rohit Sharma where he, keeping emotions in check, revealed it would be his “last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level”.

Rohit Sharma, who began his interaction after Ashwin left, explained what led to the spinner’s announcement. He was first asked what led to the decision mid-series.

“Some decisions are very personal and I don’t think too many questions should be raised. If a player has a choice, he must be given that choice. Somebody like Ashwin, who has been there for us for so many years is allowed to make those kinds of decisions on his own, and we as teammates have to respect it. He was very sure about what he wanted to do,” he said.

“Obviously, there is a bit of gap now, so for us as a team to regroup and collect our thoughts on this is very, very crucial right now.”

Asked to expand on that Rohit said what had gone behind the scenes as India battled Australia in Perth and Adelaide, leaving the series 1-1, and in Brisbane.

“I heard [about] this when I came to Perth,” said Rohit. “Obviously, I was not there for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was in his mind since then… There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it. I am pretty sure Ash, when he is in a position to, will be able to answer that. But when I arrived in Perth this was a chat we had. I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink-ball Test match. And then after it just happened, he felt that “if I am not needed, then I am better off saying goodbye to the game. Obviously, we have not been to Melbourne, so we are not sure what sort of conditions we will get there for our combination,” he added.

“But just keeping Ash in mind, giving him that particular respect, if this is what he thinks, we should allow him to think that way. We should all stand by what he is thinking at this point in time. That is what I am thinking now and that is the kind of chat we had, me and [coach] Gautam Gambhir as well. It is important that a player like him, who has had great moments with the Indian team and he is truly a big match-winner for us, he is allowed to make those decisions on his own. And if it was now, so be it,” the skipper added.

Minutes earlier, Ashwin had said he would continue playing, having already moved back to Chennai Super Kings for the next IPL season.

“I do feel that there is a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to showcase that in club level cricket,” said Ashwin. “I’ve had a lot of fun; I’ve created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other team mates.”

“Obviously there are a lot of people to thank but I would be failing in my duties if I didn’t thank the BCCI and fellow teammates... Rohit, Virat (Kohli), Ajinkya (Rahane), (Cheteshwar) Pujara who have taken those splendid catches around the bat to give me the number of wickets I’ve managed to get over the years.”

“Also a big thank you to the Australian cricket team who have been very fierce competitors, and I’ve enjoyed my time playing against them. It’s truly a very emotional moment. As a cricketer, I’ll just stop it and I might go on to be involved with the game because this is a game that’s given me everything.”

Ashwin always had a sense of occasion — he would raise his game when India needed him to — but his timing has surprised many. To retire in the middle of a tour, just as MS Dhoni had done after the 2015 Melbourne Test, leaves the team a player short.

But this was a conversation Ashwin had been having with himself for a while. Was he needed? Could he still give it his best? Was his knee going to hold out? For a man who spent a lifetime chasing perfection, being ordinary was never going to be good enough.

Even before embarking on the tour of Australia, he had talked to his family about how he was contemplating retirement. They, in turn, asked him to think it over again. By the time, the team rolled into Brisbane, the thinking was done.

According to team officials, Gambhir told Ashwin that he wouldn’t play too often on overseas tours in India itself, and the emergence of Washington Sundar helped the off-spinner make up his mind.

His final contribution to India was his spell of 1-53 in the defeat at Adelaide after being left out of the series opener. Ravindra Jadeja, his partner in crime over so many years, played in Brisbane.

Injuries have forced Ashwin’s hand in the past and he had thought about quitting then but he found a way to deal with it and still excel as a bowler. There had been some hints about this in the past but no one was fully prepared to grasp the thought that the 38-year-old would one day just walk away without so much as a murmur.

Perhaps, you may not realise it while the Australia tour is on, but when India next play at home, the familiar genius of Ashwin will be truly missed. The ability to conjure something out of nothing while exploring the unknown is what set him apart and that, even as he walks off into the sunset, will always remain his calling card.