In an interview, Ravichandran Ashwin talked about how his early cricket mindset was affected by the famous off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. The discussion took place during a special episode that examined the evolution of sledging and taunting in Indian cricket.
He clarified that he was captivated by Harbhajan’s style when playing cricket for the Under-19 side under Dinesh Karthik’s leadership: “I played Under-19 cricket for the first time under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy.” I used to bowl less and bat a little back then. Because I was a true devotee, I used to bowl using Bhajju Pa’s bowling motion everytime I bowled.
I used to mimic Bhajju Pa’s actions while playing gully cricket every day after he entered the scene. On JioHotstar’s “Cheeky Singles,” Ashwin stated, “I actually watched all those matches very closely, including his dismissal of Ricky Ponting and the dismissal of Matthew Hayden while bowling from over the stumps during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
However, I never thought I’d become an off-spinner.” It was always batting in my head. However, there was something about him, his personality, and his capacity to confront everyone and take the fight when he bowled. I therefore thought that generation was great. I sincerely admired him, and I never thought I would get this far,” he continued.
Ashwin’s analysis of Anderson’s remark after Kohli’s 200
Ashwin also recalled an incident that happened during an Indian Test series involving England fast bowler James Anderson. Anderson made a statement after Virat Kohli scored a double hundred in Mumbai, bringing India’s first-innings total to 631. Ashwin expressed his disappointment at Anderson’s comment, saying he felt it lacked sportsmanship.
“Jimmy Anderson is a fantastic bowler with incredible talents who bowled exceptionally well throughout his career! In Mumbai, they batted first and scored about 450 in the first innings. We were 330 for six at one stage after that before Virat scored an incredible double hundred. We were set to give them an innings defeat when Anderson arrived for the press conference and said, “This is India, let him come to England.”
Ashwin stated, “He completely took control and helped us overhaul their score, and we got to 630-odd.”How difficult is it for you to give someone credit, man? I therefore thought it was below the line. He shouldn’t have said that, but we respect him greatly,” he continued.
Harbhajan Singh took part in the discussion and shared his opinions on how the Indian Premier League has changed the nature of on-field banter in cricket. He acknowledged that sledging has become less frequent since the IPL began, but he emphasised the importance of maintaining some level of competitive interaction.
“After the arrival of the IPL, the sledging and banter have reduced a bit because earlier, it used to happen a lot,” he said. However, because you share the dressing room with those guys, meet them frequently, play with them, and sit and converse with them, the IPL has brought people closer. However, as long as it doesn’t go too far, I think there should be some banter and interchange in sports,” Harbhajan stated.
