Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian right-arm spinner who announced his retirement from Test cricket on December 18, 2024. Ashwin retired with 537 wickets to his name, his Test wicket tally is the second-highest for India, behind Anil Kumble’s 619. Ashwin’s 37 Test five-fors are only bettered by Muttiah Muralidaran (67) in Test cricket.
Ashwin first came into national reckoning due to his exploits with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. He was soon called up for India in ODIs and was part of the team that lifted the 2011 World Cup. He rarely got to play in the tournament though because of the presence of Harbhajan Singh. He kept on progressing and was soon given a Test call up. Any doubts that may have been there about his abilities in the longest format was dispelled when he took nine wickets on debut against West Indies. He took nine five wicket hauls in his first fifteen Tests, thus cementing his position in the side. 2013 turned out to be a bad year for him as he sat out six Tests. He made a few minor tweaks to his bowling style and came back in the 2015 Test series against South Africa taking 31 wickets in India's 3-0 victory. Ashwin is also a handy lower order batsmen and had started as an opener in the domestic circuit before switching to spin. He has two Test centuries to his name.
Shreyas Iyer has made a strong start to his IPL 2026 campaign, with 208 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 182.46. His captaincy has also helped the Punjab Kings stay the only unbeaten side of the season, so far.
In contrast, Ashwin praised Ishan Kishan’s calls as a captain in SRH’s previous game, particularly the call to give youngster Praful Hinge the ball in the final over of the game versus CSK
CSK's captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has managed just 82 runs in six matches of IPL 2026. This poor form has seen him average just 13.67 with a strike rate of 112.33.
Ashwin, who retired from IPL cricket in August last year, reflected on CSK’s struggles in IPL 2025, saying he did not wish to dwell too much on the season since it was mentally distressing for him.
Ravichandran Ashwin backed Gautam Gambhir’s team-first approach, saying Indian cricket is bigger than individuals while pointing bowling concerns in the transition phase.
India’s loss to Australia in the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium still lingers in public memory, but R Ashwin made it clear that the current Indian team is not looking at the ground through the prism of that result.
Virat Kohli and Co will begin their Sri Lanka tour in Galle when the two teams play the first Test from July 26. Indian cricket team will be playing a three Tests, five ODIs and a one-off T20I against Sri Lanka.
The 100-day vigil: How a custodial death case ended in a state-ordered cremation
India30 min ago
After 100 days, the body of 26-year-old Dalit man Akash Delison was finally removed from a government hospital and cremated under police protection. His family had demanded justice for his alleged death in police custody and refused to accept the body until all 16 involved officers were arrested. Despite actions taken, their demand for accountability remains unmet.
