India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, ending a career in which he took 765 wickets for his country across all formats.
Ashwin, 38, made the announcement after India’s draw with Australia in the Brisbane Test, a game in which he was not selected.
He said: “This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at international level.
“I feel I have a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to express it, show it in club level cricket.”
Ashwin is India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker with 537 scalps behind only Anil Kumble (619), while he claims 156 ODI wickets and 72 in T20 Internationals.
The Chennai-born player also scored 3,503 Test runs with six hundred and 14 half-centuries.
Ashwin, who is the seventh highest wicket-taker in men’s Test cricket, added: “I had a lot of fun.
“I’ve made a lot of memories with Rohit (Sharma) and a few of my teammates, even though we’ve lost a few of them (to retirement) over the last few years.
“We’re the last group of OGs, you could say. I’ll mark this as my date to play at this level.
“Obviously there are a lot of people to thank, but I would be remiss if I didn’t thank the BCCI and the teammates.
“Most importantly Rohit, Virat (Kohli), Ajinkya (Rahane), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, who have taken some catchers around the bat and given me the wickets I have been able to get over the years.”
