India's star allrounder Ravindra Jadeja has revealed that he didn't have any prior knowledge of Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement and only got to about it "at the last moment". Jadeja said that he spent the whole day alongside Ashwin but the latter " didn’t even give me a hint".
"I got to know about the retirement at the last moment, five minutes before the press conference. It was shocking. We spent the whole day together, and he didn’t even give me a hint. I got to know at the last minute. We all know how Ashwin’s mind works," Jadeja told reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Saturday, December 21.
Jadeja hailed Ashwin as his "on-field mentor" and mentioned that the spin-bowling pair used to build game plans for the batters in the opposition ahead of a series in tandem.
"He is like my on-field mentor. We have been playing together for so many years. We kept passing messages to each other on the field regarding the match situation, what the batters are trying to do," said Jadeja. Jadeja urged the youngsters in the team to step up and fill Ashwin's boots in the coming games.
"I will miss all this. We just hope that we get a better all-rounder and bowler than Ashwin. It's not like nobody can replace a player. Everyone goes, but you do get the replacement. We have to move on. In India, we always have good talents; it is not like anyone is irreplaceable. We will have to move on. It is a golden opportunity for any youngster to grab this opportunity," he added.
The 36-year-old also reflected on his 77-run knock in the first innings of the third Test in Gabba and said that he will play according to the role assigned to him by the team management if he gets an opportunity in the remaining two Tests of the series.
“Scoring outside when the team is in a tough position, it gives you confidence,” he said.
“Mindset will be the same. You will have to play according to the match situation and I will play according to the team’s role," he mentioned.
