Ashwin’s swan song

This refers to your editorial “Swan song, too soon” in your edition dated 26.12.24 is bang on target. As in the case of M. S. Dhoni and Anil Kumble, Ashwin too had announced his retirement, from international cricket, during the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Down Under. Yes, it was a real shocker, as he could have been handy during the remaining Tests @ Melbourne and Sydney.

It is real tragic that someone of his calibre was struggling to get selected in the playing XI, while someone else kept getting picked up without any scrutiny. In fact Ashwin’s averages, both batting and bowling, are better than some of our celebrity cricketers. Apart from this, his winning percentage is much better than others.

He is the best all-rounder, next to our legendary Kapil Dev, in our country. He is fit enough to play for another couple of years or at least till the Championship Trophy. It is unfortunate that the present team management had different views. In reality, it is a loss of Indian cricket than to the legendary Ashwin.

Vinay Mahadevan,

Chennai, India