Former Indian cricket player Ravichandran Ashwin recently stirred a hornet’s nest when he passed unsolicited comments on Hindi while speaking at a graduation ceremony at a private engineering college in Tamil Nadu.
Ashwin, who retired midway through the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India lost disappointingly, asked his audience which language they would prefer him to speak. When he suggested English, it was met with some cheers. Then, when he proposed Tamil, the response was overwhelmingly positive. The discussion could have ended there, but Ashwin went on to ask if the students would like to hear him speak in Hindi. When he received a negative response, he made an unsolicited remark about Hindi, stating, “Hindi is not the national language; it is an official language.”
While no one in the audience seemed to ask Ashwin to address the crowd in Hindi, his remarks targeting Hindi nevertheless stirred political controversy, serving as fodder for the Dravidian chauvinists itching to advance the bigoted propaganda they have long championed.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, several Tamil language enthusiasts lauded Ashwin, claiming his comments were factual and he held up a mirror to the Hindi-speaking north Indians.
Ashwin’s politically charged comments naturally drew the two prominent political parties into the debate. DMK leader TKS Elangovan echoed Ashwin’s stance, asking how could Hindi be the national language when states spoke different languages.
The BJP, on the other hand, saw through the political nature of his comments and urged Ashwin to desist from reigniting the language debate.
“DMK appreciating this won’t be a surprise… I want to ask him, is he a national cricketer or a Tamil Nadu cricketer?” BJP leader Uma Anandan said.
It is also worth mentioning that though Ashwin stoked up language debate against Hindi, he has a dedicated YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’—for his Hindi followers. The channel has over 126,000 subscribers, though Ashwin has not been regularly uploading content on it, presumably due to his busy schedule being a part of the Indian cricket dressing room until recently and franchisee cricket.
This makes his gratuitous comments on Hindi even more intriguing, making one wonder if they were a result of the alleged falling out with the predominantly Hindi-speaking Indian cricket team and Gautam Gambhir-led team management weeks ago after which Ashwin abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket during India’s tour of Australia.
R Ashwin makes shock retirement announcement midway in BGT series
Ravichandran Ashwin, a legendary spinner who wove his magic with his fingers when bowling and scoring crucial runs when he was asked to bat, announced his immediate retirement from international cricket in December 2024, making the declaration following the conclusion of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Brisbane. He departed to India shortly thereafter.
“This marks my final day as an international cricketer representing India in all formats,” Ashwin stated during a press conference after the Brisbane Test. “Although I feel there’s still some energy left in me as a cricketer, I intend to channel that into club-level cricket. However, this is my last day playing for India.”
Reflecting on his career, Ashwin shared, “It’s been an enjoyable journey filled with incredible memories, especially alongside Rohit [Sharma] and many of my other teammates, even though I’ve seen some of them leave the team over the years. We’re among the last of the original core group left in the dressing room, and I consider this my final date at this level.”
He expressed gratitude to those who supported him throughout his career, adding, “I owe thanks to many people, starting with the BCCI and my teammates. I’d like to mention a few by name — Rohit, Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], and [Cheteshwar] Pujara — who’ve taken exceptional catches around the bat, contributing to the wickets I’ve collected over the years. Coaches and numerous others have also played pivotal roles in my journey.”
Ashwin’s father hints at possible humiliation for his son’s abrupt retirement decision
His retirement sparked rumours of a rift with Team Management, as many suggested his decision stemmed from the realization that he no longer fits into their plans. But Ashwin’s father suggested “humiliation” may have caused his son to suddenly announce retirement.
“Retirement is Ashwin’s personal decision, and I have no right to interfere with that,’ Ashwin’s father said. “However, the way he announced it suggests there could be various reasons behind it. Only Ashwin truly knows — perhaps it was due to some form of humiliation.” He added, “It’s an emotional moment for the family, without a doubt, as he spent 14-15 years dedicated to the field.”
Not just his father, but many on social media were shocked due to Ashwin’s shock retirement decision. With Team India squandering the 1-0 lead after the Perth Test and unravelling down under, ending up losing 1-3 to lose the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in over a decade, chatter has been underway on the internet if it was to do with the dressing room environment that may have brought about the team’s undoing.
Recently, former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin found Ravichandran Ashwin’s decision to retire midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series rather unusual. He suggested that India appeared to lack a clear strategy for the five-match series, which could have led to Ashwin’s frustration, especially since he was left out of the playing XI in two of the first three Tests.
“It shouldn’t have been a surprise — they’ve played here enough and had success,” he said on the Willow Talk podcast. He found Ashwin’s mid-series retirement surprising, adding, “I don’t think we’ve heard the last of it. I think he was simply fed up with not being selected.”
Amidst all, Ashwin also seemed to have liked a hilarious tweet mocking Indian skipper Rohit Sharma for apparently running a PR campaign after allegedly dropping himself in the final test due to lack of his batting form.
अश्विन जी धन्यवाद हमारा पोस्ट लाइक करने के लिए ।
आपके सम्मान में हम गेंडे रोहित को टीम से निकलवा देंगेhttps://t.co/FfArrVZr35 pic.twitter.com/qoRoMvWO8p
— रावण – Ravana (@LankakeRavan) January 5, 2025
Carrying chip on his shoulders or eyeing an entry into Dravidian politics?
Taking these developments together, one cannot help but wonder if Ashwin’s uncalled-for remarks against Hindi were driven by his alleged resentment of the team management, led by head coach, Gautam Gambhir, a former north Indian cricketer who represented Delhi. It doesn’t help the fact that other non-performing players such as Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli come from Hindi-speaking regions and have apparently been given a longer rope by both, the team management and the selection committee.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of the side, although hails from Mumbai, there have been several videos doing the rounds on the internet where he is seen bantering on the ground in Hindi.
Therefore, was it the alleged disgruntlement of being wronged by the team management that undergirded Ashwin’s superfluous comments on Hindi or is he harbouring a career in politics in Tamil Nadu, for which tapping into linguistic chauvinism is one of its defining characteristics? Only time will tell.
In a recent graduation ceremony in an engineering college in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, R Ashwin stoked a row when he said Hindi is not a national language, but an official language.
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