Ashwin's Father Ravichandran Cancels Melbourne and Sydney Tickets After Late Night Call: Report

Ravichandran Ashwin's family is in disbelief along with the rest of the cricket world. His unexpected retirement announcement during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has left his Indian teammates and parents shocked. Ashwin's father had already made travel arrangements for the upcoming Boxing Day Test and New Year's Test in Melbourne and Sydney, hoping to see his son play. However, he had to cancel the tickets when Ashwin informed him of his decision to retire in Brisbane.

According to a report in The Indian Express, Ashwin first considered retirement during last year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. The great all-rounder decided to give "one final push" in Australia this year as there are no immediate red-ball assignments for Team India after that.

"With his knee giving him trouble, he had given retirement a thought. Those in his close circle say even before he left for Australia, he was in two minds, but wanted to give one final push as there isn’t any immediate Test series lined up post the tour Down Under. So once he boarded the flight to Perth, his family and friends expected him to finish the series, with father Ravichandran even booking flight tickets to watch the Boxing Day and New Year Tests. On Tuesday night, he phoned to inform them that December 18 would be his last day as an international cricketer," the report said.

Ashwin flew back to Chennai the same evening and was welcomed warmly by his family and friends on Thursday morning.

Although Ashwin described his decision as an "instinctive" call that was on his mind for a while, his father raised eyebrows by hinting at other factors, including humiliation.

"I too came to know at the last minute. The way in which he gave that (retirement), there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation," Ravichandran told 'CNN News18'.

However, Ashwin later tried to douse the fire, saying his father was not "media trained" and his comment should not be taken seriously.

"My father isn't media trained, dey father inneda ithelaam (what's all this, father). I never thought you will follow this rich tradition of 'dad statements'," he quipped after the comment became a viral social media trend.

"Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone," Ashwin wrote on X.

Earlier, Ravichandran said the family was expecting Ashwin's retirement for some time because "humiliation was going on", though he didn't reveal the exact nature of it.

"The sudden change – retirement – gave us a shock. We were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own," he said.

"It's his wish and desire, I cannot interfere in that. The way he gave his retirement, one part I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued," he added.