Ravichandran Ashwin, the off-spinner for Team India, has stated that he used to copy Harbhajan Singh’s bowling action when he was younger. ‘Bhajju pa’ was also the driving force behind Ashwin’s decision to take up spin bowling.
On Monday, Ashwin passed Harbhajan Singh rcricket, with 417 wickets. The 35-year-old abowled New Zealand opener Tom Latham for 52 runs on the fifth day of the Kanpur Test.
Ashwin remembered how he used to emulate Harbhajan’s bowling movement before finding his own groove in a light-hearted interview with Player of the Match Shreyas Iyer (105 & 65) on bcci.tv.
Tamil Nadu
“I used to bowl a bit of seam up for Tamil Nadu. Then I had a pelvic disc slip. After that, I just started batting, didn’t want to bowl at all. But, after that 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I decided to take up off-spin because of ‘Bhajju pa’. It’s pretty easy, you put your hands across, hop and skip and keep going. That’s how I started. Now, I don’t know if I can do it (smiles).” he said
Ashwin also claimed the wicket of Tom Blundell (2) on Day 5 in Kanpur, giving him 419 Test wickets at a fantastic average of 24.48.
Right now, Ashwin is having a terrific time. He returned to India’s T20 squad after a four-year break during the World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He has continued his outstanding form in the home series against New Zealand.
“I didn’t know if I would play Test cricket after the pandemic. I hadn’t played the last Test in Christchurch (before COVID). I was standing at the crossroads thinking whether I would play Test matches. Where is my future headed? Do I get into the Test team? This is the only format I play. God has been kind and I have been able to turn around things.” he said
In the Kanpur Test, Ashwin took three wickets in both innings and made crucial contributions of 38 and 32 with the bat.
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