Ravichandran Ashwin has finally broken his silence on the controversial statement made by his father Ravichandran after his sudden retirement from international cricket. He retired from the game immediately after India's third Test of the 2024–25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in a draw against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane on 18 December.
With two matches remaining in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ashwin, the world's highest active wicket-taker with 537 dismissals in Test cricket, shocked everyone by announcing his international career and taking the flight to Chennai in the same day. .
Ravichandran Ashwin breaks silence on father's controversial retirement remarks
On Thursday, December 19, the all-rounder's father Ravichandran revealed that he learned of his son's decision at the last moment and surprisingly said that “humiliation” may be one of the reasons behind his sudden withdrawal. The emotional father also asked, “How long can he tolerate all these things?”
This statement added fuel to the fire as there were already speculations that all was not well with him in the Indian cricket team, with many claiming that he is under pressure to accept the call-up.
Remarkably, Ravichandran Ashwin has so far been picked in only one of the three Tests in the BGT 2024-25 series and has been largely overlooked for the overseas Tests, preferring Ravindra Jadeja due to his superior ability of beating.
After his father's statement spread like wildfire and various types of news started creating a media frenzy, Ravichandran Ashwin broke his silence on his father's controversial statement.
As fans and the media dissected every word of his father's statement, the legendary spinner stepped in to lighten the mood with his wit. Taking to social media X, Ashwin said his father is “not media ready” and asked everyone to “forgive him and leave him alone”.
He posted on X: “My dad is not media trained; dey father enna da ithelaam. I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of “daddy statements”. Pray everyone forgive him and leave him alone.”
My father is not media ready, my father Enna da ithelaam 😂😂.
I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of “daddy statements” .🤣
Pray everyone forgive him and leave him alone 🙏 https://t.co/Y1GFEwJsVc
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 19, 2024
Ravichandran Ashwin shares screenshot of memorable call log with Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev
He also shared another post on social media to share a candid moment from the last day of his career as an Indian cricketer. Reflecting on how far he has come as a cricketer, Ashwin posted about the emotional significance of seeing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev in his call log that day.
Expressing his gratitude, Ashwin described it as a moment he could not have imagined 25 years ago.
Sharing the screenshot, Ravichandran Ashwin posted on X, “If someone had told me 25 years ago that I would have a smartphone with me and the call log on the last day of my career as an Indian cricketer would show like this ☺️☺️, I would look like this ☺️☺️ had a heart attack only then. Thank you @sachin_rt and @therealkapildev paaji🙏🙏 #blessed.”
If someone had told me 25 years ago that I would have a smart phone with me and that the call log on the last day of my career as an Indian cricketer would look like this☺️☺️, I would have had a heart attack only then. Thank you @sachin_rt and @therealkapildev paaji 🙏🙏 #blessed pic.twitter.com/RkgMUWzhtt
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 20, 2024
Notably, Ashwin will continue to play in the Indian Premier League where he will return to play for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025 and club cricket after retiring from international cricket.