“How long can he tolerate all those things?” - R Ashwin’s father explains shocking reason behind retirement after BGT 2024-25 3rd Test

Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin left many in shock with his sudden retirement announcement from international cricket. The announcement came after the third Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 Test on Wednesday (December 18) at The Gabba.

Many were surprised at his decision, particularly coming midway through the series. Meanwhile, Ashwin's father Ravichandran made a shocking claim behind a possible reason for his son's retirement from international cricket coming sooner than expected.

According to his father, Ashwin's retirement was based on other reasons apart from just being done with cricket at the international level. In an interview with CNN News18, Ravichandran made a shocking claim, stating that Ashwin was being 'humiliated', which could have influenced his decision to step away.

“I too came to know last minute, actually. “(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," he was quoted as saying.

While R Ashwin's retirement came as unexpected to many, including fans and experts, his father revealed that they were expecting it due to the 'humiliation' going on.

“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," Ravichandran stated.

---

R Ashwin's father on his son's retirement his role in his career

R Ashwin's father stated that despite not knowing what was going on in his son's mind, he accepted his decision to retire with pleasure.

“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," Ravichandran said.

When asked about the role he played in his son's cricketing career, Ravichandran said that he encouraged R Ashwin to give equal importance to both cricket and education. He added that he would only help him by dropping him off for practice and talking to him while crediting his son for going about his business on his own.

“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 concluded.