R Ashwin said Gautam Gambhir asked him to play the home season before he retired from international cricket
Ashwin announced his retirement during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and returned home after the third Test in Australia
He first told former captain Virat Kohli about his decision before making it public
R Ashwin has revealed that head coach Gautam Gambhir asked him to continue through the home season before he retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ashwin announced his retirement in the middle of the five-Test series in Australia and returned home after the third Test. He first told former captain Virat Kohli about the decision. That series later turned out to be the last one in international cricket for Kohli and Rohit Sharma as well.
Nearly two years after stepping away, Ashwin spoke about the timing of the call on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel. His comments offer a fresh look at how one of India's senior-most cricketers weighed form, fitness and his place in a changing team core.
Retirement Decision Details
The doubts had begun earlier.
"I was thinking during that England series about till when I should continue playing. If you have a standard and you know it is getting difficult to maintain that, not because of your head, but because of your body, it is very deflating. I took injections, and then the New Zealand series turned out to be very disappointing. I felt I could not win the series for my team, and we could not come back either," Ashwin said on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel.
He then spoke about his conversation with Gambhir and the point at which he finally made up his mind.
"I spoke to Gautam as well, and he told me to play the home season at least. Against Bangladesh, I thought, can I just end it at Chepauk? But it just kept dragging. Then I felt it was done and just decided in Perth itself," Ashwin said.
Selection And Aftermath
The team management had already made a big selection call in Australia.
India left out both Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja from the playing XI for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin returned for the second Test but went back to the bench for the third, after which he headed home from the five-match series.
He soon moved into the next phase of his career. Ashwin then played one IPL season for Chennai Super Kings after retiring from international cricket, before ending his IPL career in August 2025.
That path is shut now. Because he has already featured in overseas leagues, Ashwin cannot return to the IPL. He now works as a cricket expert and has also played in several leagues.
Ashwin ended his Test career with 537 wickets and 3503 runs in 106 matches. He also hit six centuries and was part of India's 2011 ODI World Cup-winning side and the 2013 Champions Trophy-winning team.
