“I didn't have an idea that both (Rohit and Kohli) would retire together. This will be a testing time for Indian cricket, and I'll say this is truly now the beginning of the Gautam Gambhir era,” Ashwin said on his YouTube show 'Ash Ki Baat’.
Sources have told The Statesman that Kohli has expressed his desire to retire from Test cricket and has been in discussion with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for some time.
Ashwin, who announced his retirement following the conclusion of the third Test against Australia at the Gabba, Brisbane, said he had first contemplated retirement following his 100th Test (against England in Dharamsala) in the early part of last year.
Questioning England cricket’s “mindset”, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin slammed their approach towards “sub-continental tours” after the Jos Buttler-led team was shown the exit door from the group stage of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
Hailing Rohit Sharma’s selfless approach in one-day internationals, World Cup-winning former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said he’s a big fan…
In seven innings at this venue in Tests, Ashwin now has two hundreds and another fifty-plus score.
Recalling his interaction with Gambhir during his first full Test series for India in 2012, Ashwin revealed that the opening batter was one of the very few from outside his home state of Tamil Nadu to give him a lot of confidence as a new-comer.
As part of the deal, the 37-year-old Ashwin is all set to take charge of the Chennai Super Kings High Performance Centre, coming up Navalur, in the outskirts of Chennai, and expected to be fully operational ahead of the start of IPL 2025 season.
The 37-year-old also revealed that he was not able to complete his action the way he wanted to because of an abdominal injury in the first half of IPL 2024.
Unlike the placid batting turfs of Kotla, Wankhede or the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad, a sterner challenge awaits the batters in Chepauk where the strip will be sticky in nature. And thus, the MA Chidambaram Stadium could be expected to provide the perfect balance between the bat and ball.
