"If I am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game," R Ashwin told India skipper Rohit Sharma before his surprise international retirement, refusing to let anyone else write his script after 14 years of service to the game. It is understood that retirement was on his mind after the home series against New Zealand, which India shockingly lost 0-3. He had made it clear to the team management that if he was not guaranteed a place in the playing eleven during the Australia series, he would not even travel Down Under. India played Washington Sundar ahead of Ashwin in Perth before the veteran returned for the pink ball Test, at Rohit's insistence. Ravindra Jadeja played in the Brisbane Test and as Rohit stated after the drawn third Test in Gabba, nobody knew how the squad would shape up for the remaining two games in Melbourne and Sydney. "There was no nudge from the selection committee. Ashwin is a legend in Indian cricket and he has the right to tak