Watch: "Felt no longer needed…" — Ravichandran Ashwin reveals real reason behind his international retirement

Just after returning to Chennai from Australia, upon announcing his sudden retirement from international cricket after the end of the fourth Test in Brisbane, the spin all-rounder of the Indian side, Ravichandran Ashwin, revealed that he had no regrets about it. But he has now opened up about the real reason for the decision. 

Ashwin, who finished his career with 537 wickets in 200 Test innings of the longest format at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 50.70, thanks to 37 five-wicket hauls and 24 four-wicket hauls, with the best bowling figures of 7/59 in an innings.

Ashwin opens up: "Everyone treated me like I was not needed anymore" after NZ series failure

In a recent video on YouTube, Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on the secret behind his retirement decision after the failure in the New Zealand series at home, despite being adjudged the ‘Player of the series’ against Bangladesh at home. 

Watch Ashwin revealing his reason to retire from international cricket- 

“So many people reckon that I lost the New Zealand series and I wasn’t at my best. Before the New Zealand series, we had the Indian series. I don’t know how one judges the Bangladesh series. I was the ‘Player of the series’ where I picked up five wickets and scored a century.” Ashwin expressed this on his YouTube video.

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“Against New Zealand, we didn’t play well. And I take full responsibility for that. But after going to Australia, I felt like I wasn’t needed by anyone. I felt I was no longer required. That’s why when a player feels he is not needed, two things will happen. One, they can’t perform, and secondly, they will feel so low about themselves for being there.” He added.

537 Test wickets, a World Cup, and more — A look back at Ashwin's trophy-laden international career

Ashwin, along with his 537 wickets in the longest format at an average of 24, recorded 156 wickets in 114 innings in the 50-over format at an average of 33.20 and a fine strike rate of 40.40 with the help of one five-wicket haul at the best bowling figures of 4/25.

In the shortest format, the 39-year-old picked up 72 wickets in 65 innings at an average of 23.22 and a strike rate of 20.10 with an economy rate of below seven at the best bowling figures of 4/9 in an innings.

See Also: "Absolutely Entertaining" — Ashwin's reaction to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India A innings says it all

Ashwin is also the World Cup winner for the Indian side when he earned the ICC title in 2011 when they got the better of Sri Lanka in the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Fans react as Ashwin draws a striking parallel between his retirement and Rohit Sharma's future

Here is how the fans reacted to Ashwin drawing a parallel between his retirement and Rohit Sharma’s future on the social media platforms-