Ravichandran Ashwin has clarified the controversy sparked by his father’s remarks regarding his retirement. In an interview, Ashwin’s father suggested that feelings of humiliation might have influenced the veteran off-spinner’s thoughts about retiring during the ongoing IND vs AUS Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Addressing the issue on X, Ashwin wrote:
“My father is not media trained. I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of dad statements”
My dad isn’t media trained, dey father enna da ithelaam 😂😂.
I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of “dad statements” .🤣
Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone 🙏 https://t.co/Y1GFEwJsVc
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) December 19, 2024
In an exclusive interview with CNN News18, Ravichandran Ashwin’s father said:
“I too came to know last minute, actually,” Ravichandran told CNN News18. “What was going on in his mind I don’t know. He just announced. I too accepted it with full pleasure. I did not have any feeling at all for that. But the way he gave his retirement, one part I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued.”
“(Retiring) is his (Ashwin’s) wish and desire, I cannot interfere in that, but the way in which he gave that, there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation,” Ashwin’s father Ravichandran said.
With 765 wickets across formats, Ashwin retires as India’s second-highest wicket-taker and a modern-day legend.
“Definitely, no doubt about it (being emotional for the family), because he was on the field for 14-15 years. The sudden change – retirement – gave us really kind of a shock. At the same time, we were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own,” Ashwin’s father Ravichandran said.
“I used to take him by bike and drop him off for practice. I did not get involve much in his cricket. What I did was to encourage him to focus on both studies and cricket. At home I used to talk to him that’s all. Rest he did it (on his own). I did not do anything because of his intelligence and brilliance he came up on his own. I did not help him that much in cricket, but on his own and with his brain work, he did everything (by himself),” he said.
