What's next for the retired R Ashwin?

Ravichandran Ashwin has retired, bringing to an end one of the all-time great careers. There's a lot to miss, but a lot more to look forward to, writes Aadya Sharma.

The first thought that blazed through my brain when R Ashwin sat down next to Rohit Sharma was how it looked more like Rohit’s retirement than Ashwin’s. In his lilac sweatshirt and shorts, a relaxed Ashwin had already relinquished his Test jersey as a kitbag memento. The fully-kitted Rohit looked the pensive one, not making any eye contact and staring into space while Ashwin spoke (lest some tears make way?)

There was no evident cheat sheet to help with words if the brain became too fuzzy with emotion: he made it sound like a usual day-end interview. Maybe, it was a mind very clear on the decision, but the fluency of words was impressive nonetheless. He was graceful enough to thank the Australians, humourously taunted the media for being “nasty” at times, dipped a bit into hip-hop culture with his use of “OG”, and stopped himself when he thought it was getting too long.

R Ashwin retires with a gazillion cricketing achievements, but also with a legacy that stretches beyond all of that time in the India jersey. A cricketer’s contribution doesn’t necessarily start and end with the physiological act of playing the game at a certain level: Ashwin made you understand that.

Fame and popularity has seen many drift away from their roots, but Ashwin has clung on to them all along. He was a megastar who quietly reminded you that family mattered beyond all the thrills and frills. "The entire family is built on cricket and to facilitate my career. It hasn't been easy. It has been very hard on them,” he said after rushing midway through a Test this year to be with his ill mother. Three years ago, he had flown out of the IPL to be with his Covid-19-hit family.

“A family of four, five, six people, having to deal with everything that I go through on a daily basis and yet keep a secret away from me on what they go through, I think it’s an incredible journey”. Now, he’ll finally be reunited without a busy cricketing calendar creeping up on them.

Ashwin never shies from promoting the Tamil language and referencing its cinema, an artform for the masses, and an easy medium to connect with the majority. His retirement takes you back to the line he quoted out of a Rajinikanth movie recently: “When you know your death date, your living time becomes hell”, a line that he held onto to “shed massive insecurities from his life”.

The contemplative side of Ashwin probed beyond the boundaries that defined cricket to the public: here was a man who could collect and portray his thoughts and not hide behind abstract words like other cricketers do. He made you think and perceive the game with more sincerity, and not just binge what the television guys made you see. Over the last decade and a half, cricket has become more superficial and superfluous in quality and quantity. Players like Ashwin keep you connected to the feels like the olden times.

For someone who strived to learn new things everyday, and was at the forefront of experimentation, Ashwin’s retirement is definitely just the beginning of something else. He would fit right into a commentary panel: he has a sound body of work in front of the camera, including a vastly popular YouTube channel with a million and a half subscribers. He is a treat to listen to in English and Tamil, and is slowly venturing into Hindi too.

But it would be very unlike Ashwin to be tied to a seat, bound by a producer’s veto and their diktats on diplomacy. He likes the freedom of his speech, and can very easily start an alternative platform on cricket coverage. I’d pay to watch him speak on the sport, instead of suffering through the auditory mediocrity that’s generally offered.

He’s clearly obsessed with the game, and his social media account – aside from chess and cinema discussions – speaks like an informed critic, tweeting about other live matches, questioning lawmakers and calling out dodgy decisions. Ever since that bail-flicking incident in 2019, R Ashwin has been the global advocate for the run-out at the non-striker’s end, turning a stigmatised manner of dismissal into a widely accepted one, while also helping detach the much-maligned and unfairly dubbed ‘Mankad’ name from it.

In his farewell note, Ashwin promised to stay connected with the game, and will certainly go down a route that allows coaching and mentoring in some capacity. Even while parting ways with his now former teammates, and before taking a flight home, Ashwin promised to eagerly track the rest of the series. When a 17-Test old Yashasvi Jaiswal whispered to Ashwin that he couldn’t believe it was happening, you understood the impact he had had on the younger generation.

“The cricketer in me, as in Indian and international cricketer, might have come to an end, but the cricket nut in me will never come to an end,” he said.

He’s detaching from his India duties, but not breaking his fidelity to cricket.

His videos, if not insightful already, should get naturally more revealing, tipping more into the insides of the Indian team. Wait for him to be even more outspoken, not bound by contractual obligations or confined by a dressing room.

And there’s still a bit of cricket to look forward to too: starting with the IPL homecoming at Chennai Super Kings next year, a perfect home stage to say goodbye to top-level cricket. But Ashwin will hang around to play the local leagues and be among aspirants, just like he has in the past. Last year, he was captaining a division team in Chennai weeks after coming back from tour, the same team he invited Cheteshwar Pujara to play for in 2019. Hands-on mentoring doesn’t get better.

There’s also a likely sequel lined up for his biography, potentially a few more books and columns to pen. His musings about the philosophy of life can get easy entries into self-help books.

As a future broadcaster, or a mentor, or just a voice of authority, Ashwin will continue to make the game richer. There will be a lot to learn about the sport, but if you grasp the words carefully, a lot more to learn about life.

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