If you have watched Test cricket on grounds across the world, you are likely to have found Chennai to have the most cricket-aware crowd and enjoyed discussing the intricacies of the game with a stranger in the stands. Ravichandran Ashwin is the embodiment of such a Chennai cricket fanatic. Following his retirement, as one would expect, there have been several tributes from commentators and players alike. But this one by Gideon Haigh, perhaps one of the best cricket writers around, captures the fanatic in him best.
“John Arlott said of the great English seamer Maurice Tate that he did not play cricket; he lived in it. The same might be said of Ravi Ashwin, who has retired, somewhat unexpectedly, aged thirty-eight.
He was born into the game — his parents Ravichandran and Chitra were obsessed with his career. He married the game — his wife now runs his cricket academy, Gen Next, and media company, Carrom Ball Media. He covers the world on his YouTube Channel, and is a compulsive communicator on Instagram. In amongst all this, he has harvested 765 international wickets and nearly 5000 runs.
Sometimes cricketers and their cricket are readily separable. Yet it was hard to imagine a conversation with this proud Madrasi that did not circle back to his passion and obsession. He did have other interests, I know. He liked movies, with a special affinity for the cult classic Chennai 6000028. It is, of course, about cricket.”
Gideon references Ashwin’s recently published book co-authored with Sid Monga, “I Have The Streets” where he talks mostly about his early cricket life:
“He takes you right back to his gully cricket days in Ramakrishnapuram 1st Street, where, for instance, he developed his batting technique of staying leg side of the ball, because he had no pads, and his aptitude for the pull shot, because there were windows straight. He executed his first Mankad, he tells us, aged twelve. Nobody blinked. No wonder he took a hard line later.
… He was restlessly tireless, tirelessly restless, immersed in his own game, but also in everyone else’s. Rahul Dravid has a pleasing glimpse of him in his introduction.
“I have seen Paras Mhambrey, our bowling coach, occasionally try to impress something upon him. Ash will verbally duel with him, and it never appears that Paras has been able to fully convince him. And yet, two days later, we will see Ash trying the same thing in the nets all my himself. Then we just look at each other, smile and nod: look, he is actually trying to find out why you asked him to do a certain thing.””
Gideon ends by taking a shot at explaining Ashwin’s untimely retirement mid-series but it is Ashwin the character the game and its fans will miss.
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