Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently shared that Team India head coach Rahul Dravid had a long discussion with a bartender in West Indies regarding Jonny Bairstow’s controversial stumping in the second Ashes 2023 Test as well. He also added that during Dravid’s conversation with a bartender and a waiter, another fan suggested that the officials made the right decision by giving him out.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said: “The other day, we were sitting on a beach, and Rahul bhai bought me a lemon juice. He had a one-hour discussion with the bartender and waiter on whether Jonny Bairstow was out or not. They spoke about rules, the spirit of cricket, and everything in their discussion. They are all so passionate. Then suddenly an old man came and declared, “He Bairstow maan, he out maan!”.”
Notably, Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal in the Lord’s Test against Australia made headlines. Alex Carey stumped him as he wandered out of his crease after ducking a short ball from Cameron Green as well. Ashwin also shared another incident that took place in the West Indies ahead of India’s upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies.
“We all went to dinner here. Myself, Dilip sir, Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathore, all of us. We crossed a restaurant at that time. An old man came and asked us in his own Caribbean accent, ‘Do you want to have a drink, man?’ Then suddenly he started recognizing all of us and got hyper like, ‘I know you. You look like someone. You look like a cricketer. You are Ashwin. You are Rahul Dravid’.”
However, India and West Indies will play against each other in the Test series opener at Windsor Park in Roseau from Wednesday, July 12. And, Ravichandran Ashwin said that he has been touring West Indies for 14 years now.
“How we got here currently in Dominica, the Caribbean Islands, is a completely different kettle of fish. I have been coming here for the last 14 years. In the last 14 years, absolutely nothing has changed here. If anything, they are actually teaching us life in reverse gear,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded.