'My dad isn't...': Ravichandran Ashwin's plea as father claims humiliation behind surprise retirement

Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday said that his father is not "media trained" and urged everyone to leave him "alone". His request came after his father's comment that Ashwin was humiliated went viral on social media.

A day after Ashwin announced retirement, his father, in a television interview, claimed that his son was humiliated, which he suggested could have been one of the reasons for his sudden retirement.

"My dad isn’t media trained...request you all to forgive him and leave him alone," the ace spinner, who announced his surprise retirement on Wednesday, said. 

Ashwin surprised many by retiring midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Minutes after India drew the third Test in Brisbane, Ashwin announced his retirement during a press conference alongside captain Rohit Sharma at the Gabba.

Ashwin remained tight-lipped about the timing of his decision but said he had no regrets about his cricketing career. The off-spinner said he was looking forward to representing the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2025. Ashwin returned to Chennai on Thursday. 

Reacting to his retirement, former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath said he felt that Ashwin was not given the respect he deserved and that his retirement from international cricket should have been celebrated with grandeur. Badrinath said Ashwin's unexpected decision left him shocked and that the off-spinner deserved to exit on a high.

Amid discussions surrounding the timing of Ashwin's retirement, S Badrinath defended the off-spinner, attributing the decision to the treatment he received over the years. "I am shocked. I think, to be honest, he wasn't treated fairly. Rohit Sharma said he wanted to leave after the Perth Test match. He wanted to leave when Washington Sundar was played ahead of him. That tells you he was not happy," Badrinath told Star Sports Tamil.

"Honestly, I am saying something-it's a big thing for a cricketer from Tamil Nadu. There are many reasons for that. Players from a few other states get better chances. Despite all these odds, Ashwin went on to take more than 500 wickets and became a legend.

Former India opener WV Raman, who coached Ashwin during his early days in Tamil Nadu cricket, also suggested that something was not right. He said a cricketer only calls time when he knows that he has had "enough" and something must have snapped within Ashwin when he decided to announce his retirement.

"A cricketer retires when he feels that he's had enough," Raman told PTI, adding that no cricketer knows when exactly that realisation comes but it does one fine day. "It's all a case of things slowing down in one's mind or suddenly a cricketer gets a feeling that oh, enough! I can't really go through this routine of getting up or training, going to the ground, doing things over and over again." 

Ashwin retired as India's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, with 537 dismissals to his name.