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

Veteran India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin recently announced his retirement from international cricket. He confirmed his decision after the conclusion of the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Brisbane.

Ashwin appeared alongside skipper Rohit Sharma in the post-match press conference and addressed the media. Following that, former India cricketer Kapil Dev has come forward and expressed how unhappy he was with the way Ashwin retired. Kapil Dev opined that he would have sent off Ashwin with a lot of respect and happiness and asked the current generation of cricketers to be better than them.

"The next generation has to be better than us. If not, the world is not going ahead. We never imagined that somebody would come close to Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar...Ashwin has gone. I wish I had been there, I wouldn't have let him go like that. I would have sent him with a lot of respect and happiness," Kapil Dev was quoted as saying by IndiaToday. 

'Leaves you one short' - Sunil Gavaskar on Ashwin's mid-series retirement

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar compared Ashwin’s retirement to that of MS Dhoni from Test cricket. Notably, Dhoni had also announced his retirement in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2014-15. Reflecting on the same, Gavaskar opined Ashwin could have made the announcement after the end of the series, as his mid-series retirement leaves the Indian team without a core player in a crucial series.

"He could have said, listen after the end of the series, I won't be available for selection for India. What it does is that, similarly when MS Dhoni retired at the end of the thirrd Test in 2014-15 series, it leaves you one short. The selection committee has picked so many players for a tour with a purpose. If there are any injuries they can select from the reserve players to have in the team. So, Sydney is somewhere where there is a lot of support on offer for spinners,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by NDTV.