Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, ending a career in which he took 765 wickets for his country across all formats .
Ashwin, 38, made the announcement after India's draw against Australia in the Brisbane Test, a match for which he was not selected.
He said: “This is my last day as an Indian cricketer in all formats at the international level.
“I feel like I have some punch left in me as a cricketer, but I would like to express that, show that in cricket at club level.
Ashwin is India's second highest Test wicket-taker, with his 537 scalps behind only Anil Kumble (619), while claiming 156 ODI wickets and 72 in the T20 international matches.
The Chennai-born player also hit 3,503 Test runs, with six hundreds and 14 half-centuries.
Ashwin, who is the seventh-highest wicket-taker in men's Test cricket, said: “I've had a lot of fun.
“I have made many memories with Rohit (Sharma) and a number of my teammates, even though we have lost some of them (to retirement) over the last few years.
“We are the last group of OGs, we can say that. I mark this as my date to play at this level.
“Of course there are a lot of people to thank, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn't thank the BCCI and my teammates.
“Most importantly, Rohit, Virat (Kohli), Ajinkya (Rahane), (Cheteshwar) Pujara, who have taken some of the catches around the bat and given me the number of wickets I have taken over the years .”
