Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir Were the Only Ones Who Knew about R Ashwin's Retirement; Others, Including Kohli, Were Surprised

Kohli expressed his emotions upon hearing about Ashwin's retirement after 14 years of playing together. The flood of memories from their time on the field together brought tears to Kohli's eyes as well. The heartfelt embrace they shared in the Indian dressing room captured the deep bond they had formed over the years.

The selectors also had very little clue. "There was no nudge from the selection committee. Ashwin is a legend in Indian cricket and he has the right to take his own call," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

It was, however different for Rohit and Gambhir. "Within the team, except for skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir, the decision came as a shock for the rest, reported The Indian Express.

Rohit said he first learned about Ashwin's retirement after he landed in Perth in the middle of the first Test.

"Speaking about Ash, he was very very sure about this decision. I heard this when I came to Perth. Obviously, I was not there for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was on his mind since then. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it; I'm pretty sure, Ash, when he went in position, will be able to answer that," Rohit told reporters at the post-match press conference.

"It just happened so that if you know where he felt that, 'if I'm not needed right now in the series, I'm better off. Saying goodbye to the game, but obviously, we've not been to Melbourne yet, so we don't know what sort of conditions we expect there and what sort of combination, but just keeping Ash in particularly in mind, giving him that respect that this if this is what he thinks, we should allow him to think that way and we should all stand by."

Ashwin has the most Player of the Series awards in Test cricket (11). He was also the second-fastest bowler to reach 500 Test wickets, achieving the feat in 98 games in February 2024. He remains the quickest bowler to surpass the 250, 300 and 350 Test wickets mark. Ashwin bows out, having played just one Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was named in the playing XI for the Adelaide pink-ball Test, where he picked up just one wicket. Ashwin played 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is for India, taking 765 wickets across all formats.