Remember Sachin paaji trying to help me out…”: Ashwin reminisces about Test debut ahead of 100th game
Ahead of his 100th Test match, Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reminisced on his Test debut and reflected on what the milestone means for him as a player.
India and England will lock horns in the fifth and final Test of the series in Dharamshala from Thursday, which will be Ashwin’s 100th Test as well. In 99 Tests so far, Ashwin has taken 507 wickets at an average of 23.91, including 35 five-wicket hauls, with the best bowling figures of 7/59. Combine it with his tally of 3,309 runs in 140 innings at an average of 26.14, with five centuries and 14 fifties and he is one of the most successful all-rounders of the modern era.
Speaking about his debut Test match against West Indies on December 6, 2011, Ashwin told ESPNCricinfo’s The Cricket Monthly that his wife Prithi was not present at his debut match and it was legendary batter VVS Laxman who gave him his Test cap. He also recalled how Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni were there for him right from the start. Ashwin also revealed that he recently watched some videos of his debut match, in which he took nine wickets, including a six-fer in the second innings.
“Somebody who played a very significant role for me until I got to the IPL, Sunil Subramanian, was there for the Test match. I had called him over. I think my dad might have also come. Lachchu bhai [VVS Laxman] handed me the cap. That is one Test match where Prithi wasn’t there. I will officially be a hundred at Dharamsala; she will be 99,” said Ashwin.
“I remember Sachin paaji at mid-off, trying to help me out. MS was, as usual, very confident. For some reason, videos from the game have cropped up on YouTube recently. I saw the nine wickets again. Three and six.”
Talking about getting his first Test wicket, dismissing Darren Bravo, Ashwin felt that it was a “run of the mill”.
“It was not a big deal. He went back to cut and the ball went on and he was bowled,” he added.
Ashwin said that playing the 100th Test does not mean as much to him as it means to his parents and his wife. He also said that he is really happy to be the first-ever player from Tamil Nadu to have played a century of Tests for India, though it is “just another number” for him.
