‘Kohli wouldn’t have’: Captain, coach hammered over star’s snap exit as divide exposed

India is under fire for its handling of Ravichandran Ashwin’s shock retirement midway through the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

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With the scoreline 1-1 after three matches, meaning that the remaining two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney are guaranteed to be live, Ashwin quit his glittering international career and flew home.

Reports have since emerged that Ashwin was on the selection outer with coach Gautam Gambhir and that captain Rohit Sharma had to convince him to play when picked for the second Test in Adelaide. Younger spinner Washington Sundar had the inside running over Ashwin and fellow veteran Ravi Jadeja, but Rohit threw his weight behind Ashwin after returning as skipper from a paternity leave stint.

Ashwin, 38, at least arrived home to a hero’s welcome, swamped at Chennai International Airport. He insisted he had “zero regrets” about his exit or international career, and still had a burning desire to play franchise limited-overs cricket.

Yet criticism and analysis of Ashwin’s exit is all over the Indian media – including comments from an old foe, who took aim at the coach and captain.

“I saw his press conference and it looked like he didn’t speak about many things. I can guarantee that Virat Kohli wouldn’t have let Ashwin retire mid-series if he were the captain,” former Pakistan Test cricketer Basit Ali said on his official YouTube channel.

“Ravichandran Ashwin should have retired after the New Zealand series itself as Washington Sundar was called up for the second Test, or it should have been after this five-match series. I think letting Ashwin retire after three Tests was a bad decision from Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. They should have sat with him and made him understand that India needed him for these two Tests.”

Ali also made a curious critique of Ashwin’s Test career, which boasted 537 Test wickets from 106 matches at 24.00, with 37 five-wicket innings and eight 10-wicket matches.

“Yes, Ashwin didn’t perform well in the Adelaide Test. But is he a one-match performer? Ashwin is not a match-winner. He is not a match-winner, he is a series-winner. Being a match-winner is different and being someone who can win tournaments and series is different,” he said.

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Indian legend Kapil Dev said that the manner of Ashwin’s exit was unfortunate.

I wish I had been there, I wouldn’t have let him go like that. I would have sent him with a lot of respect and happiness,” he said.

Fellow legend Sunil Gavaskar, who said the day prior that Ashwin had left India short, said that the off-spinner had realised he was no longer a first-choice selection away from home soil. He said that Ashwin’s pursuit of Anil Kumble’s all-time Test wickets mark for India (619) had run out of puff.

“He could have gone on to do that for sure. But did he want to do that? That’s the thing. Did he want to be under that? You know, look, you might take, you know, you might score hundreds of hundreds. You might; you might take, you know, plenty of five, five-wicket hauls or 10-wicket hauls in test matches. But that drive, do you have that drive,” he told India today.

“Rohit Sharma said that he had to persuade him to play the Adelaide Test, which means that even for the Adelaide Test, the previous Test, Ashwin wasn’t really in the mental sort of frame, maybe, to play that Test match. That’s, I think, what would have been, that certainly would have been the consideration that he was not going to be the number one pick.

“And look, anybody who’s got 500 plus wickets, 530, 540 wickets like he has, there is pride in your own performance. There is a feeling that you know you are somebody who has delivered in the past, and therefore, when you are not selected, it hurts you. It hurts you.”

Writing for the Deccan Herald, Madhu Jawali said that Ashwin’s drop down the pecking order for overseas Tests may have made his place untenable. He pointed out that India next plays in England, with a long gap until another Test at home.

“A player should retire when people are asking why now, rather than why not now! This is one of cricket’s timeless truisms. And to that extent, R Ashwin’s decision to retire from all forms of international cricket stands the scrutiny of this axiom. But then cricket is also about timing. And this is where India’s most prolific off-spinner has been called out,” Jawali wrote.

“Waiting for 10 more months to play his next Test could have played heavy on his mind. While Ashwin has been a second-choice spinner in overseas Tests for long, he might have been convinced of the futility of swallowing that humiliation any longer. And at 38, it’s not easy to keep oneself motivated to stay match-fit without knowing when or if you will get another chance in the XI.

“That said, has he left India a spinner short though? There are still two in the squad with Ravindra Jadeja more or less assured to play the Melbourne Test. While two should suffice, the team management, if it so wants, can always request for a replacement as there is plenty of gap before the fourth Test commences. “

Writing for the Indian Express, Sriram Veera wondered at the fine margins of Ashwin’s decision in Brisbane.

“There was a moment when Ravindra Jadeja was walking back after hitting a game-saving 77 that’s worth freezing. R Ashwin, who a day later would announce his shock international retirement and fly back to India, was then at the dugout, that is out in the open by the stands at the Gabba. He would lean across, tap Jadeja and beam a smile; Jadeja would nod his head and walk through to the tunnel.

“What would have happened had he not hit that 77, especially after such a below-par bowling performances where his usually-impeccable control deserted him on the big stage. A poor performance with both bat and ball could have made matters tricky. Would it have affected Ashwin’s retirement decision, considering his wife said the final call was made that evening. Even if it didn’t, would the Indian management try harder to persuade Ashwin to stay back for Sydney, where now Jadeja has inked himself as the main spinner-all-rounder spot?”

Writing for the Hindustan Times, R Kaushik said that Ashwin was inclined to think independently.

“How will the cricket world remember Ashwin? A lion-hearted competitor, to start with. No situation fazed him, he didn’t believe anything was impossible. Sometimes, that worked against him, sure.

“When he was required to do a holding job, for instance, he often went looking for wickets because that’s what comes naturally to him. That thought process didn’t always align with the team’s requirements and there are certain to have been ideological differences with his captains, but those leaders also realised that Ashwin was coming from a good place and were from time to time willing to back his thinking when they found merit in that approach.”