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Adds quotes from Rohit and Cummins

India’s off-spinning star Ravichandran Ashwin announced his immediate retirement from international cricket after the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday.

The 38-year-old took 537 wickets in his 106 Tests at an average of 24.00, which puts him seventh on the all-time list and second only to Anil Kumble (619) for his country.

He also played 116 one-day and 65 Twenty20 internationals.

“This will be my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level,” Ashwin said at the post-match press conference along with captain Rohit Sharma after the toss of the match.

“I feel like I still have a bit of batting power left in me as a cricketer, but I want to express and showcase that in cricket at club level.”

He was not selected for Brisbane as his final Test was in Adelaide last week where he finished 1-53.

“I had a lot of fun. I made a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my teammates,” he added.

“Of course there are many people I have to thank, but I would not be fulfilling my duties if I did not thank the BCCI and my teammates.”

Rohit said Ashwin decided to call it quits during the Perth Test but he persuaded him to stay for Adelaide.

However, it was during this Test that he decided that his time as an international cricketer was over.

“As a team, we have to respect this decision,” Rohit said.

“He was very sure about what he wanted to do and the team fully supported his thought process.”

“He had so many great moments with the Indian team and was a big match winner for us.”

“He gets to make these decisions, and if that’s the way it is now, then so be it.”

Australian captain Pat Cummins said Ashwin was a tough competitor.

“He was obviously a fantastic player all over the world – there aren’t many finger spinners who have that kind of longevity,” Cummins said.

“He will go down in history as one of the greats.

“There is a lot of respect for his career in our locker room.”

Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 against the West Indies and was also good with the bat, scoring 3,503 runs with six centuries and 14 fifties.

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