๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป has decided to hang up his boots today. Itโs a bittersweet moment. I still vividly remember his debut Test against the West Indies. Wasnโt it in 2011? He got out for a duck in his first inning, but it didnโt take long for him to prove he was no ordinary cricketer. Six wickets in an inningsโthat was how he announced himself to the world. A master spinner had arrived.
That duck? It must have stung. But Ashwin wasnโt the kind to let a failure define him. He bounced back with a century in the very same series. If memory serves me right, he was also named Man of the Match and Man of the Series in his debut outing. Over the years, he didnโt just stop at being a world-class off-spinner. He reinvented himself as a reliable batsman. Match-winning hundreds flowed from his bat, and India had found a true all-rounderโone of its finest.
Do we really need to talk about his stats? The numbersโthe matches, the wickets, the runsโspeak for themselves, but theyโre not what define him for me. What stands out are those moments of poise and brilliance under pressure. I vividly remember the 2022 T20 World Cup clash against Pakistan. With India needing two runs off two balls, Dinesh Karthik was dismissed, and Ashwin walked in.
Mohammed Nawaz was bowling, and the atmosphere was electric. He sent down a delivery down the leg side, likely hoping Ashwin would panic and step out. A stumping seemed imminent. What did Ashwin do? Nothing. He simply let the ball pass, earning India a crucial wide. One ball later, he sealed the win with a calm single.
That momentโletting the ball goโwas more than cricket. It was clarity of thought, nerves of steel, and an unflinching belief in himself. Resisting the urge to swing wildly, he let the situation play into his hands. It was Ashwin at his best.
Ashwin always wore a thinking cap. His mind was as sharp as his skillset, and that made him special. He wasnโt just a bowler; he was a strategist, a tactician, a leader.
For me, he will go down as one of the greatest spinners India has ever produced. A cricketer with a cerebral edge. A true artist of the game.
