‘I wouldn’t have let him go like that’ – Kapil Dev unhappy with R Ashwin’s farewell

Ravichandran Ashwin, a seasoned all-rounder for India, recently declared his retirement from international cricket. Following the completion of the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25 in Brisbane, he affirmed his choice.

Ashwin spoke to the media during the post-match press conference with captain Rohit Sharma. Kapil Dev, a former cricket player for India, has since come forward to say how dissatisfied he was with Ashwin’s retirement. In his opinion, Kapil Dev would have wished Ashwin farewell with great respect and joy and urged the current crop of cricket players to surpass them.

“The following generation must surpass us. Otherwise, the world won’t advance. We never thought anyone could match Sunil Gavaskar or Sachin Tendulkar. Ashwin is out. If I had been present, I wouldn’t have allowed him to go in that manner. IndiaToday cited Kapil Dev as stating, “I would have sent him with a lot of respect and happiness.”

Sunil Gavaskar said of R Ashwin’s mid-series retirement, “Leaves you one short.”

Sunil Gavaskar, a former cricketer for India, likened Ashwin’s retirement to that of MS Dhoni in Test cricket. Interestingly, Dhoni had also declared his retirement during the 2014–15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Given that Ashwin’s mid-series retirement leaves the Indian side without a key player in a pivotal series, Gavaskar thought Ashwin might have announced the news after the series concluded.

He might have said, “Listen, I won’t be available for selection for India when the series concludes. What it does is leave you short, just like when MS Dhoni retired at the conclusion of the third Test in the 2014–15 series. Many players have been chosen by the selection committee for a purposeful tour. They can choose to include players from the reserve squad in the event of any injuries. Therefore, Gavaskar was quoted by NDTV as saying, “There is a lot of support available for spinners in Sydney.”