Ravichandran Ashwin India retires, ultimatum for Australia tour, how Gautam Gambhir's selection led to exit midway through Border-Gavaskar Test series, says Rohit Sharma

Ravichandran Ashwin told the Indian team management that he did not want to tour Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Test series unless he was guaranteed a place in the playing XI, and he made his shocking decision to retire after being told by coach Gautam Gambhir had been rejected for two of the three matches so far.

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The Test he played, in Adelaide, came only after Rohit Sharma arrived Down Under and insisted the off-spinner be recalled, but an irate Ashwin had to be convinced by the captain to take the field.

Those bomb details came in one Press Trust of India report, as the cricket-mad nation comes to terms with the sudden end of a great career.

Ashwin, who took 537 Test wickets from 106 matches at midnight, gave a brief press conference after the third Test in Brisbane to announce that his international cricket career was over midway through the series. He didn't answer any questions and said: It's really a very emotional moment, and I don't think I'm in a position where I would answer the questions properly and I was gone from the press podium within two minutes.

Ashwin will leave Australia today, in a stunning mid-series exit that few would have anticipated. The series lives at 1-1 after Brisbane's rain-affected draw, with India gearing up for high-stakes Tests in Melbourne and Sydney as Ashwin runs.

Rohit said the 38-year-old had all but quit after his first test omission.

When I arrived in Perth, this was a conversation we had, and somehow I convinced him to stay for that pink-ball Test match. After that, it just happened, Rohit revealed.

He felt that if I am not needed in the series now, it would be better for me to say goodbye to the game.

It is an extraordinary end to a great career in India. Ashwin trails only fellow spinner Anil Kumble (619) for Test wickets.

It is understood that Ashwin was thinking of retirement after India's shock 0-3 home series loss to New Zealand. The legendary off-spinner had informed the team management that he would not travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy unless he was assured of a place in the playing XI, the Press Trust of India report said.

India's decision to play Washington Sundar ahead of Ashwin in the Perth Test seemed to be the turning point. Although Ashwin returned for the pink-ball Test in Adelaide at the insistence of Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja was preferred for the subsequent Brisbane Test. As Rohit stated after the drawn third Test at the Gabba, the squad composition for the final matches in Melbourne and Sydney remained uncertain.

The decision to omit Ashwin for Washington Sundar in Perth appeared to have been made in Rohit's absence, with coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly having a major say. By the time Rohit joined the team, he had to persuade Ashwin to play in Adelaide.

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Ashwin did not tell anyone except Rohit about his retirement plans, according to a report in the newspaper Hindustani timesciting management's lack of confidence in Ashwin's overseas performances. However, he shared an emotional hug with Virat Kohli just before his announcement.

Usually such decisions are communicated to the top in advance. But this was not the case with Ashwin. Ashwin has been one of the strongest pillars of India's success and everyone who helped take the team to such incredible heights is expected to give the authorities some pointers. However, Ashwin did not reveal his cards to anyone except the skipper. Even Virat Kohli, the skipper Ashwin who achieved most of his success, was unaware given his tribute.

Even the BCCI selection panel was not informed in advance and reiterated the belief that Ashwin decided to retire on his own.

Sharma said: I heard this when I came to Perth. Obviously I wasn't here for the first three or four days of the Test match, but this was on his mind ever since. There's obviously a lot of stuff behind it. I'm pretty sure Ash, when he's in position, will be able to answer that.

His quick exit was criticized by Indian cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar, who said he had let his team down.

He could have said, Listen, after the end of the series, I won't be available for selection for India. What it does is, just like MS Dhoni retired at the end of the third Test in the 2014-15 series, you are one short, Gavaskar said.

The selection committee has chosen so many players for a tour with a purpose. If there are injuries, they can choose from the reserve players to have in the team.

So Sydney is a place where there is a lot of support for spinners. So India could have played with two spinners. You never know. He certainly could have been there. I don't know what the field in Melbourne will look like. Normally you tend to watch the end of the series. That's it. In the middle it is not common.

The Indian media reacted with shock to Ashwin's departure.

Who would have thought that the outfit that landed on Australian soil in Perth would make a diversion from Brisbane to Chennai midway through the series, instead of Brisbane-Melbourne-Sydney-Chennai, Sahil Malhotra wrote for The times of India.

In an instant, the professor of spin bowling, one of India's greatest match-winners in Tests, the ultimate team man and an asset to any captain, left with a question on every lip: why now?

Writing for the Indian ExpressSriram Veera said Ashwin's departure brought with it a hint of intrigue.

While leaving the media room after his announcement to retire, Rohit was asked why this decision was taken in the middle of the series and he said some empty words about how Ashwin's decision should be respected.

That may be so, but with two Tests to go, and especially when the final match is in Sydney, where conditions sometimes even allow two spinners or at least provide space for the best spinner in the side to play, it was this is a strange decision.

Especially when R Ashwin is the best spinner in the Indian squad, not just in terms of reputation but even the way all three of them have bowled so far in these three Test matches. His decision and management's inability to convince him to reconsider puts a strange odor on the entire episode.

Veera's analysis piece also said: He may be celebrated for his cerebral artistry, but Ashwin is an emotional cricketer. He once revealed to this newspaper how a stray comment from his father about his ability to speak his mind ruined his career and made him retreat to a room and cry. Unable to cope with the flood of emotions, he eventually received guidance from a therapist. Lately, he said he is in a happy place and tries to collect as many moments as possible to remember, instead of worrying about small things.

Another PTI piece provided another fascinating insight into how Ashwin's cricket, which ran into controversy for his embrace of Mankad run-outs, was shaped by his father.

He is a man with strong values. In his junior cricket days, it was his father Ravichandran, who asked him from the sidelines to take out the non-striker when he saw him gaining ground unfairly. That started his effort with runouts on the non-attacker end. He believed in rules and played by them. Spirit of Cricket clothed in guile was unacceptable to him.