The Inside Scoop: Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir were the only ones who knew about R Ashwin's retirement; Kohli and everyone else were left stunned

Only captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir were reportedly aware of Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement plans. For the others, including star batter Virat Kohli and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, it came as a shock. Moments after Ashwin, in a press conference with captain Rohit by his side, announced that December 18 was going to be his last day as an India cricketer, Kohli took to social media to confirm that he only found out about Ashwin's decision during the rain break on Day 5 of the Brisbane Test against Australia.

"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," Kohli said. The embrace that he shared with a teary-eyed Ashwin in the Indian dressing room as a result of that.

The selectors also had very little clue. "There was no nudge from the selection committee. Ashwin is a legend in Indian cricket and he has the right to take his own call," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

It was, however different for Rohit and Gambhir. "Within the team, except for skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir, the decision came as a shock for the rest, reported The Indian Express.

Rohit said he first learned about Ashwin's retirement after he landed in Perth in the middle of the first Test.

"Speaking about Ash, he was very very sure about this decision. I heard this when I came to Perth. Obviously, I was not there for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was on his mind since then. There are obviously a lot of things that went behind it; I'm pretty sure, Ash, when he went in position, will be able to answer that," Rohit told reporters at the post-match press conference.

"It just happened so that if you know where he felt that, 'if I'm not needed right now in the series, I'm better off. Saying goodbye to the game, but obviously, we've not been to Melbourne yet, so we don't know what sort of conditions we expect there and what sort of combination, but just keeping Ash in particularly in mind, giving him that respect that this if this is what he thinks, we should allow him to think that way and we should all stand by."

Ashwin has the most Player of the Series awards in Test cricket (11). He was also the second-fastest bowler to reach 500 Test wickets, achieving the feat in 98 games in February 2024. He remains the quickest bowler to surpass the 250, 300 and 350 Test wickets mark. Ashwin bows out, having played just one Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was named in the playing XI for the Adelaide pink-ball Test, where he picked up just one wicket. Ashwin played 106 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is for India, taking 765 wickets across all formats.