Rain lashed the Gabba outfield. Play halted, and Ravichandran Ashwin stepped onto the Brisbane balcony to escape the dressing room noise. He noticed Virat Kohli sitting alone. Ashwin pulled up a chair.
What started as a quiet chat during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy unraveled into one of the most raw, unguarded moments between two giants of Indian cricket. Speaking on a podcast with Aakash Chopra, Ashwin revealed how he blindsided Kohli by announcing he was walking away from international cricket on the spot—leaving the former skipper visibly emotional.
He had not planned the confession. "In that game, I didn’t go there to tell Virat and it was raining; I sat with him only because he was sitting alone," Ashwin recalled.
Kohli was wrestling with his own game. Looking out across the sodden turf, the former captain opened up about his batting rhythm, the shifting dynamics of the Indian dressing room, and the heavy burden of guiding a younger generation through a grueling red-ball transition.
He wanted answers. Kohli turned to Ashwin, asking for his direct assessment of where the squad was headed and how to fix its fundamental cracks. Ashwin offered blunt tactical encouragement—pointing to Kohli’s supreme physical fitness—before cutting the cord entirely.
I said ‘You can definitely do it, you’re fit. Maybe it’s a question of discipline, tactics, but you can.’ I told him that my opinion doesn’t matter, because I’m leaving. He said, ‘What are you saying?’ I said I’m retiring today. He actually got emotional. He asked how I decided and if it was instinctive; I said it just happened. I told him I enjoyed playing alongside him.
Kohli was stunned. The man who had taken hundreds of catches off Ashwin’s bowling could only stare back as the realization settled in.
The decision had been simmering for nine months. Ashwin first weighed retirement in March 2024. His bowling remained lethal, but his knees were betraying him. The pain flared every time he strapped on batting pads, stripping away his ability to contribute down the order.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir stepped in. Gambhir urged the veteran off-spinner to hold the line and finish out India's 2024 home season. Ashwin agreed, but the campaign turned disastrous.
New Zealand executed a historic clean sweep on Indian soil. Ashwin walked off the pitch convinced he could no longer produce match-turning spells on demand. When team management benched him for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener in Perth, his mind was made up.
| Date / Period | Milestone / Turning Point | Career Impact |
|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | First retirement contemplation | Persistent knee issues severely curb batting mobility |
| Late 2024 | Gambhir intervenes | Convinced to play through the 2024 home Test season |
| Oct–Nov 2024 | New Zealand series whitewash | Home series defeat convinces Ashwin his match-winning edge has waned |
| Nov 2024 | Perth Test omission | Left out of playing XI, solidifying exit plans |
The bond had not always been seamless. The two men operated with fierce, uncompromising intensity, and their competitive streaks occasionally sparked friction earlier in their careers. Yet the lockdown during the pandemic forced a reset.
Ashwin looked inward. "My relationship with Virat improved after the COVID break. I realized that if there were any disappointments in my mind, it wasn’t his fault," Ashwin explained. When Kohli poured his heart out at the Gabba, Ashwin listened without ego.
Before parting, Ashwin delivered a tribute that caught Kohli off guard.
I told him that, ‘I haven’t told you this much, but I valued your contribution as captain and as a fielder. I’m extremely blessed to have shared the dressing room with you people. You are one of the greats.’ Then we hugged.
Ashwin drew the curtain on his illustrious international career immediately following that rain-interrupted Brisbane Test in December 2024. Five months later, in May 2025, Kohli took his own bow, stepping away from Test cricket forever.
| Dec 2024 |
| Rain break at the Gabba |
| Informs Kohli on balcony; confirms immediate retirement |
| May 2025 | Kohli Test retirement | Former captain walks away from red-ball cricket five months later |