“Not a national language, it’s an official language” - R Ashwin surprised with no cheers for Hindi at social event [Watch] 

Legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised when there were little to no cheers for Hindi when he asked for the preferred language while speaking to graduates in a college in Chennai. Ashwin remarked that Hindi was only an official language and not the national language.

The former India player went on to share some words of wisdom with the graduating students. Based on their response to language preference, Ashwin said (via CricketGully's official X handle):

"I thought I should say this: Hindi is not our national language; it is an official language."

Here is Ashwin's video from the event:

The Tamil Nadu cricketer then spoke about the importance of perseverance, saying:

"When someone says I can't do it, I wake up to accomplish it, but if they say I can, I lose interest. Had any engineering staff told me I couldn't become captain, I would have worked harder. If you are a student, you will never stop. If you aren't, learning will cease, and excellence will just be a word in your cupboard." [via India Today].

Meanwhile, Ashwin retired from international cricket during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

"I must say I have created a lot of memories" - Ravichandran Ashwin

While announcing his retirement after the third Australia Test in Brisbane, Ravichandran Ashwin thanked several of his teammates and the BCCI for the incredible memories during his international career.

The 38-year-old finished as India's second leading wicket-taker overall and in Tests, with 765 and 537 wickets, respectively, only behind Anil Kumble.

"I've had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit [Sharma] and several of my other team-mates, even though I have lost some of them [from the India team] over the last few years. We're the last bunch of OGs, if we can say that, left out in the dressing room, and I will be marking this as my date of having played at this level," Ashwin said [via ESPNcricinfo].

He added:

"Obviously there are a lot of people to thank, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn't thank the BCCI and the fellow team-mates. Several of them. I want to name a few of them. All the coaches who have been part of the journey. Most importantly, Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], [Cheteshwar] Pujara, who have taken those splendid catches around the bat to give me the number of wickets I've managed to get over the years."

Ashwin will continue to play club cricket and will be seen in action next with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2025.

The champion cricketer helped India qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2021 and 2023. Ashwin also played a massive role in India's 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy triumphs.