Pat Cummins' brilliant act towards Ravi Ashwin as cricket world stunned by mid-series retirement

Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon produced a wonderful gesture for Ravi Ashwin on Wednesday night after the Indian spinner announced his immediate retirement from professional cricket. Ashwin made the surprise mid-series decision just moments after the third Test between Australia and India finished in a draw to leave the series 1-1.

Ashwin played the second Test in Adelaide but was left out of the first and third games. "It's a very emotional moment," the 38-year-old said at a snap press conference at the Gabba. "I have had a lot of fun, I have made a lot of memories alongside Rohit (Sharma) and my other teammates."

Australia captain Cummins paid tribute to Ashwin in his own press conference and was later spotted in a brilliant moment with his rival. Photos have emerged on social media of the moment Cummins and Lyon presented Ashwin with a shirt signed by all the Australian players in the tunnel underneath the Gabba.

"It was a bit of a surprise," Cummins told reporters. "He has been a fantastic player all around the world. There aren't too many finger spinners that have that longevity and he will go down as one of the all-time greats and a fantastic competitor.

"I have had a lot of fantastic battles with him over the years in Australia and India. There is massive respect in our change room for the career that he has had."

Rohit Sharma pays tribute to retiring Ravi Ashwin

India captain Sharma explained that Ashwin called it quits because he felt he was of no more use to the team. The skipper said he was aware of Ashwin's desire to walk away since the first Test in Perth, but convinced him to play in Adelaide last week.

"He felt if I am not needed now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the team," Sharma said. "Ashwin has been with us for so many years and is allowed to make those decisions on his own. We as his teammates have to respect it. He was very sure about what he wanted to do. The team completely backs him.

"There are obviously a lot of things behind it but he understands what the team is thinking and want kind of combinations we are thinking. When we came here we were not sure which spinners were going to play. We were going to assess (based on) what kind of conditions were in front of us. When I arrived in Perth this was the chat we had. I somehow convinced him to stay for the pink-ball Test match."

Sharma added: "I have played cricket with Ash since under 17s when he was an opening batsman. Then we all disappeared and a few years later I am hearing about Ash taking five and seven wickets and I was wondering who this guy is.

"In international cricket we met again and had a long, long journey together since 2010. We all know what he has done for this team as one of the true match-winners India has ever seen. When there was a crisis we looked to Ash and he was there to deliver for us."

Cricket world stunned by mid-series retirement in Australia

Ashwin finishes up with 106 Tests for India since making his debut in 2011, taking 537 wickets. He took more wickets against Australia than any other country, with 115 at 28.58 in 23 Tests against them. He also made 3503 runs and six Test centuries, and is the only player in Test history to pick up 450 wickets and make more than five hundreds.

Long-time teammate Virat Kohli wrote on social media: “I’ve enjoyed every bit of the journey with you Ash, your skill and match winning contributions to Indian cricket are second to none and you will always and always be remembered as a legend of Indian cricket. I’ve played with you for 14 years and when you told me today you’re retiring, it made me a bit emotional and the flashbacks of all those years playing together came to me.”

with agencies