Palawankar Baloo, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Kapil Dev. The list of India’s best bowlers goes on and on. Now, it’s time for Chennai to say that one of the best bowlers of recent times is our very own Ravichandran Ashwin, Ash. While researching about my superhero, I did find some interesting things that I wanted to share.
Software Engineering before Cricket!
Ashwin was born on 17 September 1986, and he resides in West Mambalam, Chennai. He did his schooling in Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede’s. He attended Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering and graduated with a B.Tech in Information Technology. He has also worked for Cognizant Technology Solutions before becoming a full-time cricketer.
The Carrom Ball
Ashwin’s specialty is the Carrom ball. The ball is released by flicking it between the thumb and a bent middle finger to impart a spin. Carrom ball has only been used by Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka before. Ashwin calls it the sudoku ball, which in Tamil means ‘snap.’ He took 9 wickets in his debut test against West Indies in November 2011 with the same carrom ball to dismiss Marlon Samuels in the second innings. Ashwin had stated that he had first learned to bowl the carrom ball while playing street cricket in Chennai with a tennis ball, and later, he perfected the delivery with a real cricket ball.
Ashwin & His Achievements:
- Arjuna Award, 2014
- ICC Test Team Of The Year:2013
- BCCI’s Polly Urimagar Award for International Cricketer of The Year: 2012-13
- Fastest Indian Bowler to Reach 100 Test Wickets ( got there in just 18 test matches!)
- First Indian cricketer to score a century and take five wickets in the same Test match in two separate instances
- Third Indian cricketer to be awarded the Man of the Match on debut
And the list will continue to grow!
Unexpected School friends!
Preethi Narayanan is Ashwin’s wife. Both Ravichandran Ashwin and Preethi Narayanan did their schooling together in Padma Sheshadri Bala Bhavan School in Chennai. They were childhood friends, and their families knew each other very well. They were wedded on 13th November 2011. Today, they have a baby daughter, Akhira.
Football?!?!
Did you know that cricket was not his first choice as he loved playing football? He was known in his school and among his friends as a football player who used his height to his advantage.
How does he bat so well?
One of the reasons Ashwin is such a useful lower-order batsman is that he was an opening batsman at the start of his cricketing pursuits. Facing a new ball for the bulk of his early days ensured that his technique is more than impressive for someone who bats so low down the order. The primary reason for Ashwin’s batting taking a back seat was due to a severe injury he picked up as a teenager. When he was 14, Ashwin injured his pelvic area. The horrific injury resulted in a tear in the ligaments between his hip bones. This caused blood to leak into the bone joints, diffusing them. He recovered, though.
He is our Bowling Superhero!
I wish him a lot of success in his future endeavors on behalf of Chennai. We all know, Namma Chennai Chance-ey illa!
Last Updated on by Himani Rawat