Hyderabad: Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev reached out to him after he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Sharing a recent screenshot of his calls, Ashwin mentioned that he had a FaceTime conversation with Tendulkar and received a WhatsApp call from Kapil Dev. Tendulkar and Ashwin, who were teammates during the early stages of Ashwin's Test career, also shared the joy of being part of India's 2011 ODI World Cup-winning squad, which adds a deeper significance to their bond.
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Ashwin posted a screenshot of his call log and wrote a heartfelt note. "If someone told me 25 years ago that I would have a smartphone with me and the call log on the last day of my career as an Indian cricketer would look like this, I would have had a heart attack then only. Thanks, @sachin_rt and @therealkapildev paaji," he expressed.
Kapil Dev, the 1983 World Cup-winning captain, also shared his sentiments about Ashwin's retirement. Regretting the lack of respect that he surely deserved as the spinner didn't get a grand farewell, Kapil remarked, "The next generation has to be better than us. If not, the world is not going ahead. We never imagined that somebody would come close to Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar... Ashwin has gone. I wish I had been there-I wouldn't have let him go like that. I would have sent him off with a lot of respect and happiness."
Since the announcement of his retirement, the ace Indian spinner has received heartwarming tributes from the cricketing fraternity. Icons such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, and Gautam Gambhir have all praised the 38-year-old for his immense contributions to Indian cricket.
Ashwin hung up his boots as one of India's greatest match winners, with 537 Test wickets, second most after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble and six centuries with bat in the longest format. His record for the most Player of the Series (11) awards and most fifers by an Indian in men's Test cricket speaks volumes about his ability to influence games.
