Months after retiring from international cricket, Ravichandran Ashwin received one of India’s top honours on Monday — the prestigious Padma Shri Award, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award. Ashwin was presented with the award during a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) congratulated him, posting: “Congratulations to @ashwinravi99 on being conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award by the Hon’ble President of India @rashtrapatibhvn, honouring his remarkable achievements and an illustrious career with #TeamIndia,” the BCCI said.

Indian hockey icon PR Sreejesh was also recognised with the Padma Shri at the same event. Sreejesh recently retired after helping India secure a historic bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A Stellar Career

For those unfamiliar, Ashwin had a legendary career with Team India before he stepped away from international cricket. The spin-bowling all-rounder first played for India in 2010 in ODIs and T20Is, before making his Test debut the following year in 2011.

Throughout his career, Ashwin featured in 106 Test matches, 116 ODIs, and 65 T20Is for India. He was an important member of the teams that won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

With 537 Test wickets, he is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format, behind only Anil Kumble. Across all formats combined, Ashwin has 765 wickets, again second only to Kumble’s 953.

Ashwin announced his retirement after the third Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba. Although he wasn’t included in the playing XI for that match, he declared his decision in the post-match press conference and did not travel with the team for the remaining games of the series.

Despite retiring from the international stage, Ashwin continues to play competitively. He is currently representing the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL).

#WATCH | Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin receives Padma Shri award from President Droupadi Murmu for his contribution to the field of Sports.

(Video Source: President of India/YouTube) pic.twitter.com/n34QeaZz3y

— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2025

From the streets of Chennai rose a master of the game! 🦁💛

Congratulations on receiving the fourth highest civilian honour, Padma Shri R. Ashwin! 🎖️💛#PadmASHri #WhistlePodu 🦁💛 pic.twitter.com/AJNCgSNw83

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 28, 2025