Ravichandran Ashwin has been honored with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, by the Government of India. He is one of the cricketers to receive this prestigious award. The announcement was made on Saturday, January 25, and Ashwin is among the 113 recipients of the Padma Shri this year.

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On behalf of @BJP4TamilNadu, we extend our good wishes to Thiru @ashwinravi99 avl, India’s unparalleled cricketer, for having been conferred with the Padma Shri.

On behalf of all cricket enthusiasts from TN, we thank our beloved PM Thiru @narendramodi avl for commending our… pic.twitter.com/RdlIJd8LYU

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) January 25, 2025

The Padma Awards were presented on the evening of January 26. This year, a total of 139 awards were announced, categorized into three levels: Padma Vibhushan (7 recipients), Padma Bhushan (19 recipients), and Padma Shri (113 recipients). The Padma Vibhushan is the 2nd highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan is the 3rd highest, and the Padma Shri is the 4th highest in India.

The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian award. So far, only one cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, has received it. He was given the award in 2014 and was the first sportsperson to get this honor.

Ravichandran Ashwin is receiving the Padma Shri, India’s 4th highest civilian award. With this, he becomes the 40th Indian cricketer to receive this honor. Earlier, in 2015, he was also awarded the Arjuna Award, a national sports award by the Government of India.

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Ravichandran Ashwin retired from all forms of cricket on December 18, 2024, after the 3rd Test in Brisbane. The match ended in a draw because of rain, which left little time for play and no result for India. After the match, Ashwin announced his retirement during a press conference with captain Rohit Sharma.

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Ravichandran Ashwin played only one match, the 2nd Test in Adelaide, where he took 1 wicket. Before that, in a home series against New Zealand, he played three matches and took 9 wickets in 6 innings, one of his lowest wicket tallies in a home series, where he bowled more than 90 overs.

Ashwin is known for his consistent bowling throughout his career. In 44 Test series, he was named Player of the Series 11 times, highlighting his status as one of India's greatest match-winners, especially in Test cricket. With 537 Test wickets, he is India’s second-highest wicket-taker, behind Anil Kumble, who has 619 wickets. Globally, Ashwin ranks 8th on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.