Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner, whose international career’s final phase coincided with the start of Ravichandran Ashwin’s emergence, was as surprised as anyone else with the Tamil Nadu spin great’s retirement on Wednesday.

“The announcement was indeed surprising. How could he decide to retire so abruptly? Making such a decision in the midst of a series is certainly unexpected. He could have played for a bit longer, particularly in venues such as Melbourne and Sydney, where the pitches are conducive to spinners.