Indian cricket allrounder Ravichandran Ashwin waved goodbye to international cricket. His decision came abruptly on Wednesday.  He hastily called a media conference following the drawn test between Australia and India at the Gabba, and came up with the retirement decision, reports AP.  “It’s a very emotional moment,” Ashwin said. “I have had a lot of fun, I have made a lot of memories alongside Rohit (captain Sharma) and my other teammates.” Bangladesh clinch T20I series vs West Indies The right-arm spinner and handy batter got his maiden Test cap in 2011 and played 106 Tests since. He grabbed 537 wickets in Test cricket. He has 115 wickets in Tests against Australia in 23 matches.  He has more wickets against Australia than other countries.  Sharma said he was aware of Ashwin’s desire to walk away before the start of the series, but convinced him to play in Adelaide last week. The 38-year-old spinner was then left out of the third test in Brisbane, with Ravindra Jadeja taking his spot. India trails Australia by 278 runs on the 4th day of the 3rd test “He felt if I am not needed now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the team,” captain Rohit Sharma said. Ashwin’s call means he will not be available for the final two tests in Australia, with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar the two remaining spinners in the Indian squad.

Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant was hospitalized on Friday with non life-threatening injuries sustained in a car crash in northern India. Pant, 25, was driving the car that overturned and caught fire after hitting a road divider near Roorkee, his hometown in Uttarakhand state, Ravi Bijaria, a state government spokesman said. Read more: Indian police say 4 suspected rebels killed in Kashmir He was alone in the car at the time of the accident, Bijaria said — “he suffered injuries on his forehead and leg." State police officer Ashok Kumar said Pant lost control of the car and that Pant was pulled out of the vehicle by local villagers. Pant’s hometown is nearly 190 kilometers (120 miles) north of New Delhi. Pant has scored 2,271 runs in 33 tests. He has also represented the country in 30 one-day internationals and 66 Twenty20 matches. Read more: Dhaka Test: Iyer, Ashwin guide India's win from a lost position Pant was part of the Indian team that defeated Bangladesh in a test series earlier this month. He made his T-20 debut as a wicketkeeper-batsman in 2017 and played his first test and one-day international for India in 2018.

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was on Thursday discharged from a private hospital in the city of Mumbai after having recovered from Covid-19. He was admitted to the hospital a week ago after contracting coronavirus. The 47-year-old, who took to social media to announce the development, however, said that he would continue to remain isolated  at his Mumbai home for the next few days. "I have just come home from the hospital and will remain isolated while continuing to rest and recuperate. I would like to thank everyone for all the good wishes and prayers. Really appreciate it," he tweeted. Thanking the medical staff, Sachin wrote: " I remain ever grateful to all the medical staff who took such good care of me and have been working tirelessly for over a year in such difficult circumstances." Also read: Sachin Tendulkar hospitalised in Mumbai Sachin was hospitalised "as a precautionary measure" last Friday, after testing positive for Covid-19 on March 27. "As a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice, I have been hospitalised. I hope to be back home in a few days," he tweeted then. Sachin retired in October 2013 after playing his 200th Test match against West Indies at Wankhede Stadium in his hometown of Mumbai. It was a 24-year-long stint since his Test debut in November 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi at the age of 16. The former Indian batsman, who captained India twice during his career, is the highest scorer of all time in international cricket, having more than 30,000 runs in his kitty. Sachin is also the only cricketer in the world to play 200 Tests and score as many as 100 international hundreds. He has amassed 18,426 runs from 463 ODIs at an average of 44.83 and 15,921 runs from 200 Tests. Also read: Sachin Tendulkar tests positive for Covid-19 He was also conferred India's highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 2014 by then President Pranab Mukherjee. Since his retirement, 'The God of Cricket' has garnered fans in the startup community also -- playing the role of an ideal civilian mentor to the young minds of India. In 2010, Time magazine included Sachin in its annual Time 100 list as one of the 'Most Influential People in the World.

India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, who made his one-day international debut against Pakistan in Dhaka way back in 2008, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Friday.

Speculation is rife that cricket legend MS Dhoni, who made his international debut in a one-day match against Bangladesh in 2004, may soon retire from Indian Premier League, the multi-billion dollar shorter format of the game, barely two months after he quit international cricket following a 16-year-long storied career.