"It made me emotional.." Virat Kohli pens tribute to retiring Ravi Ashwin

Ravi Ashwin represented India across 287 international matches.

Indian off-spin legend Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday after the third Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 test against Australia concluded in Brisbane.

During the post-match press conference, that he attended alongside skipper Rohit Sharma, Ashwin announced that his retirement would be effective immediately.

Ashwin’s final match for India was the second test of the series in Adelaide. The off-spinner was benched in the opening game in Perth for Washington Sundar and was left out of the playing XI again for the third test in Brisbane.

One of the all-time greats for India, Ashwin finished his career with 537 test wickets at an average of 24 and scored 3503 runs, including six centuries. He also took 156 wickets in ODIs and 72 in T20Is.

Following Ashwin’s retirement announcement, tributes began pouring in across social media. Former Indian captain Virat Kohli also shared an emotional post about the veteran off-spinner.

Virat Kohli pens tribute to the retiring Ravi Ashwin

Honouring Ashwin’s 14-year international career, Kohli expressed his admiration, stating that he loved playing alongside him.

Kohli tweeted, “I’ve played with you for 14 years and when you told me today you’re retiring, it made me a bit emotional and the flashbacks of all those years playing together came to me. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey with you ash, your skill and match winning contributions to Indian cricket are second to none and you will always and always be remembered as a legend of Indian cricket.“

Virat also conveyed his best wishes for Ashwin’s future and expressed gratitude for his contributions to Indian cricket.

Kohli concluded, “Wish you nothing but the best in your life with your family and everything else that it unfolds for you. With massive respect and lots of love to you and your close ones. Thanks for everything buddy.“

I’ve played with you for 14 years and when you told me today you’re retiring, it made me a bit emotional and the flashbacks of all those years playing together came to me. I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey with you ash, your skill and match winning contributions to Indian… pic.twitter.com/QGQ2Z7pAgc

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) December 18, 2024

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