Veteran Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said before his 100th Test that he has loved his tussles with Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson and England’s Joe Root. However, Ashwin as well as England’s wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow will play their 100th Tests when India take on England at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Thursday, March 7.
“I have loved bowling to Steve Smith, Williamson and Joe Root. They are some of the finest batters going around the world now,” Ashwin was quoted as saying in a PTI report. “When I played first-class, I had the privilege of bowling to some of the gun batters of spin – I have bowled to S Badrinath at the Tamil Nadu nets, and he was one of the finest batters of spin, then Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia.”
The veteran also lauded domestic cricket giants like S Badrinath and Mithun Manhas, crediting them for challenging him, thereby helping him hone his skills. Ashwin has played 155 first-class games, claiming 749 scalps at an average of 24.94.
“These are some of the greatest batters of spin who I would have not wanted to encounter in international cricket. They were my finishing school before I went on to play international cricket. I’d like to take my hat out to them because they gave me some valuable lessons,” the seasoned off-spinner further added.
However, after making a mark for Chennai Super Kings, Ashwin made his limited-overs debut for India as well. His Test debut followed a year later too. While many said that the off-spinner got the chance based on his white-ball exploits, he disagrees with them. Meanwhile, he added that his T20 success happened more by accident
“I am treading a very careful line of not making this a punch, but it is more of a lack of understanding when you say that I came through the T20 format. I had a good 30-40 matches in first-class cricket before I made it to the Indian team. In the same year I made my Test debut (in 2011), I got a fifer in the Rest of India game for ROI side in the Irani Trophy. I had played 3-4 seasons of club cricket in Chennai. You might say there’s a standard difference, but I played 3-4 years of club cricket there, probably mentored by seniors, told where I made mistakes, corrected my discipline, bowled long spells,” he added.
“It really builds your resolve as a cricketer when you do all those things. T20 happened by accident. I didn’t know what T20 cricket was like. Played SMAT in 2008 for the first time, we were the winners. Got a CSK contract, which also happened because I got a fifer in a 50-over game playing club cricket in Chennai. A lot of things need to go your way when you have to get a breakthrough and also continue playing for a so many years. I am indebted for all those things, but I definitely wouldn’t agree that I came through the white-ball formats. It was the other way round,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.
