One down, the Damocles sword now hangs tantalisingly close to two others.

With Ravichandran Ashwin spinning a surprise retirement announcement on Wednesday, the clock appears to be ticking on the old guard of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Hours before Ashwin made it known that he was calling time on his international career with immediate effect, there was intense speculation in Indian cricketing circles about an impending retirement announcement. It revolved around a “big player” though none was certain who it would turn out to be.

The cameras panned on Ashwin and Kohli’s long conversation during one
of the multiple rain breaks in Brisbane and it provided enough hints on the imminent turn of events. It ended with an emotional hug between the two with Kohli providing succour and encouragement to the off-spinner for what obviously seemed a tough call.

The decision to retire in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with two Test matches remaining was met with shock and surprise. Ashwin wasn’t the first to do so in Australia with Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepping down with India trailing 0-2 in the four-match series in 2014.

Ashwin didn’t wish to take any questions from the media. “I don’t think I am in a position where I would be answering the questions in the right way,” he said at a joint media conference with captain Rohit.

“Today will be the last day for me as an India cricketer in all formats. I do feel there is a bit of punch left in me as a cricketer but I would like to showcase that in club-level cricket,” Ashwin added.

Ashwin’s 537 scalps in 106 Tests places him only behind Anil Kumble (619 wickets) in the overall statistics for Indian bowlers. Only 72 of those wickets, however, came in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa.

The straight-talking Ashwin has never shied away from controversies. In the 2019 IPL, he “Mankaded” Jos Buttler, sparking an uproar on social media on sportsmanship.

“Imagine someone running out Kohli, Rohit, Smith, Root, or any crucial batter at the nonstrikers in the World Cup semi-final or a crunch game that will decide qualification,” he posted on X.

Ashwin later issued a detailed clarification where he asked the batter to be well inside the crease as the bowler rotated his shoulder since winning was “everything for some and not for many others”.

“Stay inside the crease and live in peace,” he suggested.

At 38, Ashwin knows that he doesn’t have much cricket left in him. A rotation policy that will allow a smooth transition has already been put in place by head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar and Ashwin has been wise enough to read the writing on the wall.

The sudden inclusion of Washington Sundar in the playing XI during the second Test versus New Zealand in Pune was the first sign of the team management’s lack of trust in Ashwin’s abilities. Sundar picked 11 wickets in the match to pile more pressure on him.

Sources told The Telegraph that it was made clear to Ashwin that he was no longer an automatic choice and alternative plans were being worked out. The decision to play Sundar in Perth at the expense of Ashwin and the vastly experienced Ravindra Jadeja was perhaps a firm indication of the think-tank’s intentions.

Rohit’s presence in Adelaide and Ashwin’s past record with the pink ball paved the path for his inclusion in the second Test. The conditions, though, didn’t favour himand he ended with one wicket in 18 overs.

Ashwin was in contention for the third Test too but Jadeja was preferred. Perhaps he didn’t wish to risk being omitted in spinner-friendly conditions in Melbourne or Sydney, and decided itwas enough.

Ashwin could just be the first among the “last bunch of OGs” to quit with Rohit’s and Kohli’s places not secured too. Both batters have not been in the best of form and unless there’s a turnaround in their fortunes, it would be surprising to find them in England next summer.

There is also a school of thought that the change of support staff following the departure of Rahul Dravid hasn’t gone down well with some of the seniors. There have been murmurs of inadequate communication and lack of clarity.

The BCCI has also been quietly endorsing the team management’s plans with some of the senior officials’ presence in Australia adding to the drama.

Ashwin tried to shrug off the emotions as he sat next to Rohit at the news conference. “I’ve had a lot of fun. I must say I have created a lot of memories alongside Rohit and several of my other teammates, even though I have lost some of them over the last few years,” Ashwin said.

Rohit said he first came to know about Ashwin’s thought process when he arrived in Perth and convinced him to stay for the day-nightTest. Then he felt it was “better off saying goodbye to the game” if he was no more needed in the series.

Ashwin hasn’t looked out of sorts in Adelaide and the team management’s inability to convince him to complete the series is bound to raise a storm in several quarters.