After being termed as the modern-day legend by his captain Virat Kohli, the veteran Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin says he is actually an accidental cricketer, for whom it’s like a dream for him to take 400 Test wickets. Ashwin reached the milestone in the day-night third Test against England, which ended on Thursday with India winning by 10 wickets in just a couple of days. Ashwin picked up 7 in the match to take his overall tally to 401.
Talking about the same, during a chat on BCCI.tv, Ravichandran Ashwin said, “I accidentally became a cricketer. I am actually a cricket lover who went on to become a cricketer. I am living my dream here, I never imagined that I will wear the Indian jersey one day and I will play,.”
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According to Ashwin, being in the COVID-19 lockdown made him realise just how lucky he was to play for India. He feels that every time he plays a game the team managed to produce a win. Ashwin, who also became the second fastest bowler to reach the 400 Test wicket-mark after Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan, said that he analyzed sie of his previous videos of great individual performances in the lock-down helped improve his understanding of the game.
Talking about the same, Ravichandran Ashwin explained, “I used to watch a lot of footage even before, but the understanding of the game has gone one notch higher…during the lockdown, I was watching a lot of cricket from the past, especially Sachin’s hundred in Chepauk, all sort of stuff on Youtube.”
Jofra Archer became Ashwin’s 400th wicket during the second day of the Ahmedabad Test, which India won by 10 wickets and he said it was only when the batsman had opted for DRS, realized that he had reached the landmark.
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The veteran spinner explained, “Initial feeling is quite empty to be honest, because we were under immense pressure…for me I was actually in the moment, only after he (Archer) had taken the DRS, I realised the 400th that happened…after they flashed 400 Test wickets on the board, the entire stadium was up, everybody was clapping, I don’t know, I cannot put a finger and say how I feel about it, the last three months have been a complete fairy-tale.”
