Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin turned solely the second Indian after the legendary Anil Kumble to take 500 Take a look at wickets. Ashwin dismissed England opener Zak Crawley on Day 2 of the continued third Take a look at in Rajkot on Friday. Ashwin is just not solely the quickest Indian to the milestone, but in addition the second quickest within the general listing when it comes to matches, solely behind Muttiah Muralitharan, who achieved the feat in his 87th Take a look at. Ashwin, then again, was enjoying his 98th Take a look at earlier than he pulled out of the squad, flying to Chennai to attend his ailing mom.
After stumps on Day 2, Ashwin, with Kumble in firm, devoted his five hundredth Take a look at wicket to his father, Ravichandran.
“It’s been quite a long journey. Firstly I’d like to dedicate this feat to my father. He’s been with me through thick and thin, probably had a heart-attack every time he’s watched me play. His health has probably gone for a toss because of that,” Ashwin had instructed the broadcasters.
Nonetheless, Ashwin’s father, Ravichandran, has now revealed that it was the cricketer’s mom, Chitra, who first advised that the most recent entrant to the 500-test-wicket-club ought to bowl spin. In accordance with Ravichandran, the choice proved to be a “turning point” for Ashwin’s profession.
“The biggest turning point in Ashwin’s career was when he switched to bowling off-spin. And I must thank my wife Chitra for that decision. Those days Ashwin had wheezing and he also had an issue with his knee. So to do all the running (he started off as a medium pacer) was proving to be a challenge. It was Chitra who said, ‘why should you run so much. Just take a few steps and bowl spin’,” Ravichandran wrote in his column for the Indian Categorical.
Ravichandran additionally revealed that his son will not be as ecstatic as different may suppose after changing into solely the ninth bowler to take 500 Take a look at wickets.
“Speaking to him, I don’t get the feeling that 500 wickets meant the world to him. Of course, it is a huge milestone, but it isn’t everything. It is an achievement yes, but it is not a number that overly excites him,” Ravichandran additional revealed.
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