Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that the series loss against New Zealand at home was the main reason behind his decision to retire from Tests. The Tamil Nadu spinner took everyone by surprise as he announced his decision to step away from Tests mid-way through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in December 2024. Months after his retirement, Ashwin has spilled the beans on what prompted him to hang up his boots.

How a failed promise forced Ashwin to retire

In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed that he had made a promise to himself that India wouldn’t lose a series at home following a 1-2 defeat at the hands of England in 2012. Since then, India had not lost a Test series at home until they were whitewashed 0-3 by New Zealand in 2024, which brought the team’s streak to an end. Ashwin said that he had genuinely tried to keep himself upgraded in such a manner that no visiting team would be able to decode him. Ashwin said that he had decided to hang up his boots when he couldn’t do so anymore.

“I was very emotional. I was very sad after the loss against New Zealand, but I was even more sad after we lost to England 1-2. After that series, that hurt was unbelievable. I made a promise to myself that after this we shouldn’t lose another home Test series. And if we lose, then I will retire. That was a promise I made to myself and I chased it. I genuinely tried,” Ashwin said.

Ashwin’s remarks came after India faced a second whitewash at home within a span of a year. The Men in Blue were defeated 0-2 by South Africa in the two-match series as the latter ended their 25-year wait to win a series in India.

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