Ravichandran Ashwin : Barely 48 hours after announcing his international retirement, Ravichandran Ashwin is promising to play alongside Virat Kohli at the MCG. It sounds strange, but this is the way Ashwin chose to thank his partner of 14 years.

"I have played with you for 14 years and when you told me today that you are retiring, I got a little emotional and memories of all those years when we played together came back to me. I have enjoyed every moment of this journey with you," Kohli wrote hours after Ashwin announced his international retirement after the drawn third Test at the Gabba on Wednesday.

Ashwin gave a funny answer

Replying to Kohli, Ashwin said, "Thank you friend. As I told you, I will go to bat with you at the MCG." However, it was not clear what Ashwin meant. Some netizens believe that the legendary off-spinner was referring to their brief but crucial partnership in the victory over Pakistan at a packed Melbourne Cricket Ground in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Ashwin joined Kohli at the crease on the last two balls while chasing India's target of 160 runs against Pakistan. India had to score 48 runs in the last three overs of the match in which Kohli performed strongly. Both the players were unbeaten at the end of the game. Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 runs and Ashwin on one run.

Kohli hugged Ashwin

Ashwin was seen engaged in an emotional conversation with Kohli shortly before he walked into the post-match press conference with skipper Rohit Sharma to announce his retirement at the end of the third Test. Kohli expressed surprise while ace spinner Ashwin was wiping his eyes. The two were seen hugging each other at the end of the conversation inside the Indian dressing room. Ashwin arrived in Chennai on Thursday and was given a warm welcome by his family and friends. During his illustrious career, Ashwin took a total of 537 wickets in 106 Test matches with 37 five-wicket hauls and scored 3,503 runs.