A smile. Then, a hug. Arms around each other's shoulders.
It was an emotional scene for Indian cricket fans as spin spearhead Ravichandran Ashwin, who announced his retirement from international cricket today, shared a tender moment with long-time teammate and his former skipper Virat Kohli in the dressing room.
During the Indian innings, the camera showed Ashwin and Kohli in conversation in the dressing room. Soon, Kohli was seen hugging Ashwin, with the latter wiping off a tear, and continuing the conversation with arms around each other's shoulders.
The 38-year-old made the announcement in a joint press conference with captain Rohit Sharma after the third Test between India and Australia ended in a draw. Chasing 275 to win in their second innings on day 5, India were left stranded on 8/0 as rain halted, and eventually stopped, play.
Ashwin featured in the day-night Test in Adelaide and picked up one wicket. With his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja, and young Washington Sundar grabbing their chances, Ashwin's place in the playing XI has been under scrutiny. India played Sundar in Perth before the veteran returned for the pink ball match, while Jadeja played in the Brisbane Test.
“I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit [Sharma] and several of my other teammates," he said at the press briefing. "I have lost some of them over the last few years [referring to the likes of the currently out-of-favour Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara]. We are the last bunch of OGs left in the dressing room. I would be marking this as my date of having played at this level," he said.
Along with the BCCI, he thanked Sharma, Kohli, Rahane and Pujara for “those hundred catches around the bat to give me those wickets I managed to get over the years”.
His mid-series retirement reminded the Indian cricket fans of then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's similar announcement during the 2014 series.