'A cricketer retires when he feels that he's had enough': Raman on Ashwin

A cricketer only calls time when he knows that he has had enough and something must have snapped within Ravichandran Ashwin when he decided to announce his retirement former India opener WV Raman who also happens to be his firstclass coach said on WednesdayAshwin Indias secondhighest wickettaker in Tests with 537 scalps announced his international retirement after India drew with Australia in the third Test in BrisbaneI think there has been an instance before when a cricketer retired during a series Its not the first time this has happened Secondly a cricketer retires when he feels that hes had enough Raman one of the most respected cricket voices in the country told PTI during an interactionRaman said that no cricketer knows when exactly that realisation comes but it does one fine dayIts all a case of things slowing down in ones mind or suddenly a cricketer gets a feeling that oh enough I cant really go through this routine of getting up or training going to the ground and doing things over and over againTheres no saying as to when suddenly this snap happens in the mind But when that happens thats when a cricketer decides to call it a day Raman who as a coach worked with a young 20yearold Ashwin making his Tamil Nadu debut saidIn case of Ashwin Raman felt that he probably knew that hanging around wouldnt have made a lot of differenceHe has been around for a long long time Perhaps he must have felt that if hes not going to really make any difference or make any contribution theres no point in hanging aroundLets face it for somebody who has been as combative and as competitive as Ashwin has been and for a matchwinner that hes been over a long period of time its not a great situation to be thinking in his mind To be or not to be what is betterFor Ashwin it was perhaps deciding one way over other once and for allHe decides one way or the other Thats exactly what hes done when its obviously perhaps snapped in his mind that now its pointless and theres absolutely no motivation left I think thats when a cricketer calls it a day I think thats what has happened with Ashwin as wellWhy Ashwin was differentWhat Raman liked instantly about a young Ashwin walking into the Tamil Nadu dressing room was not being afraid to ask questionsHe was very freespirited He was very curious and he was fearless in approaching people and talking to them and asking questions and grilling themAnd thats something that made him stand apart from the rest because normally youngsters when theyre just getting into the firstclass scenario or they make it to the state side they tend to be reticentThey also try and assess as to what would be the ideal time to talk to a few people Or is it okay to talk to people too much Raman recalled his early daysBut Ashwin never had any such questions crossing his mind but he had a lot of questions for the others which I thought was something different about himHe was genuinely interested in trying to learn and try and discuss as much as possible and the impression that youd also get if you were to have two or three discussions with him is that that this boy is absolutely cricket mad Raman recalled about one of his favourite wardsFunny incidentRaman who is known for his sense of humour recollected an incident during Ashwins first seasonToday when I think about it I laughHe then narrated the incidentIn the first season that I was coach of Tamil Nadu I think we had a bad game against Karnataka and needed to win last couple of games to stay in Elite groupSo everybody was asked to give their viewpoint and also see if we can get any solution from any one of them because sometimes the players come out with better suggestions than the coaches or the entire group of support staffSo Ashwin being Ashwin says Sir Ill tell you something here which because I dont think you are aware of it and he said I can bat reasonably well so you can possibly look at sending me up the orderRaman cracks up even todayYou know if at all youre giving marks for timing you would give him a minus 100 for that statement of his at that point As we were heading back to the hotel I couldnt control myselfIt was so hilarious to think of a young man suddenly out of nowhere without realizing the situation or without even pausing to think as to how it will be received or whether its the right time to talk about his own abilities he just comes out with it without a problem and that was I think his strength as well which also could have been his weakness later on at some points in life for himBut full marks term for being his own righteous self through his cricketing career And he has had a great career Raman concludedWith agency inputs