‘I felt like a lot of people were backed, why not me?’ Ravi Ashwin on contemplating retirement between 2018 and 2020

Surely he is one of the best bowlers currently in the world, but R Ashwin too had his share of lows and had even thoughts of retiring from the game. The veteran off-spinner during the phase from 2018-2020 wasn’t a part of India’s ODIs and T20I teams after going out of contention in 2017.

With injuries taking place at regular intervals, it took a toll on his body and the 35-year-old cricketer stated that he did not get enough backing when he was going through a rough phase in his career.

“I contemplated retirement for a lot of reasons. I felt like people were not sensitive enough to my injuries. I felt like a lot of people were backed, why not me? I have done no less. I have won a lot of games for the team.

“I don’t usually look for help, that somebody needs to back me, that somebody needs to cushion me or give me empathy. I felt I was not being able to be excellent and felt I needed a shoulder to lean on,” Ashwin said on Cricket Monthly.

He also spoke about the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy where he sustained a Grade 3 abdomen muscle tear during the Adelaide Test. It was one of the times Ashwin said he felt like hanging his boots from the sport.

“Just after the England series in 2018, after Southampton, was one phase. Again, in Australia later that year where I tore my abdomen after the Adelaide Test, before and after Sydney. Many stages. The only person I would be talking to was my wife. But my father was hell-bent: you will make a comeback in white-ball cricket, and I will see that before I die,” he added.

However, the bad phase passed and in 2021, he made a comeback to white-ball cricket and got a chance to play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. He was also impressive in the two-match Test series against New Zealand that India won 1-0.