In a game laden with batting feats, and in a country besotted with batsmen
flaying bowlers to all corners of the park, we seldom have anything except
sympathy for bowlers.
It is brave enough that they turn up.
It is even more commendable that they do well.
But when someone (and again, in a country where spinners are played perhaps better than anywhere else), spins batsmen into his trap as consistently as Ravichandran Ashwin has done, it calls for you to doff your hat!
I haven't even mentioned that he has done it in record time, taking fewer deliveries than anyone else, doing it in the quickest number of Test matches, and generally being dominant over all batsmen.
When you see such facts, you know you are looking at no ordinary bowler, but a great.
But apart from the statistics, what Ashwin has done most commendably in my books, has been to constantly keep learning and keep reinventing himself, all through.
Yes, like any other cricketer or sportsman for that matter, he has had his share of ups and downs.
Yes, you would like to see him dominate more in overseas conditions and on unresponsive pitches too.
But despite every glitch, you know it is not for nothing that he has been the fastest to a record which, even if you attain at the end of your career, makes you revered.
And he has reached there quicker than anyone else, and with a truckload of cricket left in him.
So here's to the triple centurion - congratulations to the wily, crafty, ever-improving and ever-ready-to-learn student of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin!!
Go well, and hope to see you conquer many more summits!!
It is brave enough that they turn up.
It is even more commendable that they do well.
But when someone (and again, in a country where spinners are played perhaps better than anywhere else), spins batsmen into his trap as consistently as Ravichandran Ashwin has done, it calls for you to doff your hat!
I haven't even mentioned that he has done it in record time, taking fewer deliveries than anyone else, doing it in the quickest number of Test matches, and generally being dominant over all batsmen.
When you see such facts, you know you are looking at no ordinary bowler, but a great.
But apart from the statistics, what Ashwin has done most commendably in my books, has been to constantly keep learning and keep reinventing himself, all through.
Yes, like any other cricketer or sportsman for that matter, he has had his share of ups and downs.
Yes, you would like to see him dominate more in overseas conditions and on unresponsive pitches too.
But despite every glitch, you know it is not for nothing that he has been the fastest to a record which, even if you attain at the end of your career, makes you revered.
And he has reached there quicker than anyone else, and with a truckload of cricket left in him.
So here's to the triple centurion - congratulations to the wily, crafty, ever-improving and ever-ready-to-learn student of the game, Ravichandran Ashwin!!
Go well, and hope to see you conquer many more summits!!
