'No one forced me and it was my personal call' | Ashwin clears the air on retirement decision

The 39-year-old clarified that his decision to retire from the game was a personal call and "no one forced" him.

Ex India international Ravichandran Ashwin cleared the air over the row over his retirement saying it was his personal decision call and "no one forced" him.

It may be recalled that the 39-year-old call it quits midway into the Test tour of Australia last year.

The Tamil Nadu all-rounder also announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) in August this year.

"No one told me that you should go, no one told me that there is no place for you in the team. Actually before I took the decision 2-3 people told me not to take it but I took my decision. In fact, they wanted me to play more," Ashwin said on his youtube channel.

"Rohit Sharma (the then captain) also told me to think about it, Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) also told me to think again. But I didn't talk much about it (retirement) with Ajit Agarkar (chairman of selectors).

"The decision is very personal when it comes to retirement. These are all very individual decisions," added.

(with inputs from agencies)