𝗥𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝘄𝗶𝗻 has decided to hang up his boots today. It’s a bittersweet moment. I still vividly remember his debut Test against the West Indies. Wasn’t it in 2011? He got out for a duck in his first inning, but it didn’t take long for him to prove he was no ordinary cricketer. Six wickets in an innings—that was how he announced himself to the world. A master spinner had arrived.
That duck? It must have stung. But Ashwin wasn’t 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 didn’t 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-rounder—one of its finest.
Do we really need to talk about his stats? The numbers—the matches, the wickets, the runs—speak for themselves, but they’re 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 moment—letting the ball go—was 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 wasn’t 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.