Ravichandran Ashwin dropped a bombshell on Wednesday by announcing his retirement right after the draw in the third Test in Brisbane during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He made it clear that he was stepping away from the game immediately, which means he didn’t get a proper send-off at home.

With Ashwin's exit, India now finds itself one spinner short in Australia unless they decide to bring in someone else for the last two Tests. Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali didn’t hold back in his comments about the situation. He pointed out that if Virat Kohli were still the captain, he wouldn’t have allowed Ashwin to retire “mid-series.”

“I watched his press conference, and it seemed like he left a lot unsaid. I can assure you that if Virat Kohli was in charge, he wouldn’t have let Ashwin retire mid-series,” Ali stated on his official YouTube channel, as reported by Sportskeeda.

Ali mentioned that the spin legend should have hung up his boots after the home series against New Zealand. He argued that allowing Ashwin to retire mid-series was a misstep by captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir.

"Ravichandran Ashwin should have called it a day after the New Zealand series since Washington Sundar was brought in for the second Test, or at least after this five-match series. I believe letting Ashwin retire after just three Tests was a poor choice by Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. They should have had a chat with him to explain that India needed him for those last two Tests," Ali said.

Champion of the series

A former player from Pakistan made a pretty interesting remark, saying that Ashwin isn’t really a “match-winner” but more of a “series-winner.”

“Sure, Ashwin didn’t have the best outing in the Adelaide Test. But can we really call him a one-match performer? He’s not a match-winner. He’s a series-winner. There’s a big difference between winning a single match and being the guy who can lead a team to victory in tournaments and series,” he explained.

Ashwin wrapped up his career as India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, racking up 537 wickets over 106 matches. He also has 156 wickets in ODIs and 72 in T20s.

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