Gavaskar: Lack of opportunities and loss of motivation led to India legend Ashwin's retirement, claims he didn't aim to break Kumble's record

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar admitted on Wednesday that Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement announcement didn't come as a surprise given India's Test fixtures for 2025. Gavaskar speculated that the veteran bowler may have felt he had lost his steam and realized there would be limited opportunities for him in the future. These factors likely played a key role in Ashwin deciding to retire midway through the Australia Test series.

Speaking to India Today after Ashwin retired at the end of the drawn third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Brisbane, Gavaskar, who was also in the city owing to broadcasting duties, said that with India not play anytime soon at home next year, and the next assignment being the tour of England in June, the 38-year saw that he was unlikely to feature in any of the matches during the series and hence made a conscious decision to bid adieu to the sport.

He said: "It was coming—for sure. Because, look, India is not playing anything now until next year. There is just the five-Test match series in England. And clearly, I think what has happened is that Ashwin, who's been a wonderful player for India, saw that he was not being considered in the playing 11 when India played overseas. It's been an aspect that has been there for the last several tours: when you go to South Africa, you go to Australia, you go to England.

"He doesn't get selected in the 11. So I think at that, recognising that the England tour was going to be the next five test series and perhaps thinking that he might not get picked, he decided to call it a day. So in, in a sense it was coming."

Despite a record-breaking wicket tally at home in Test cricket, which includes the best strike rate and most five-wicket hauls, Ashwin played just 26 matches across his 13-year career in SENA nations, picking 72 wickets at 39.55.

With 765 international scalps in his bag, Ashwin is the second-highest wicket-taker from India after Anil Kumble. Ashwin has taken 537 wickets at an average of 24 in 106 Test matches. He is also seventh on the overall list of wicket-takers.

Had Ashwin remained an international cricketer, he could have had the opportunity to emerge as India's highest-ever wicket-taker in Test cricket. But Gavaskar reckoned that the senior off-spinner lacked that mental drive amid the limited opportunities.

"He could have gone on to do that for sure. But did he want to do that? That's the thing. Did he want to be under that? You know, look, you might take, you know, you might score hundreds of hundreds. You might; you might take, you know, plenty of five, five-wicket hauls or 10-wicket hauls in test matches. But that drive, do you have that drive," he said.

Gavaskar reiterated Rohit Sharma's remark from the post-match presser on Wednesday, where the India captain revealed that he had to convince Ashwin to play the second Test in Adelaide.

"Rohit Sharma said that he had to persuade him to play the Adelaide Test, which means that even for the Adelaide Test, the previous Test, Ashwin wasn't really in the mental sort of frame, maybe, to play that test match. That's, I think, what would have been, that certainly would have been the consideration that he was not going to be the number one pick. And look, anybody who's got 500 plus wickets, 530, 540 wickets like he has, there is pride in your own performance. There is a feeling that you know you are somebody who has delivered in the past, and therefore, when you are not selected, it hurts you. It hurts you," he added.