Ravichandran Ashwin became one of India’s best bowlers as he concluded his international career with 765 wickets in all forms. He became the second-highest international wicket-taker in Indian cricket history with 537 Test, 156 ODI, and 72 T20 International wickets.
Ashwin talked about a long-standing conflict with cricket analyst Sanjay Manjrekar that resulted from early career criticism. The off-spinner disclosed that Manjrekar had doubted his fitness after his maiden tour of Australia, implying that it had an impact on both his fielding and bowling abilities.
The pivotal moment in their relationship
At the time, Ashwin was greatly impacted by the criticism. Instead of brushing the remarks off, he internalised them and used them as inspiration to get fitter and perform better all around.
Ashwin had very little communication with Manjrekar for a number of years after the first article.
When Manjrekar wrote another piece in 2015 praising Ravichandran bowling performances and acknowledging his progress, his viewpoint changed. Their relationship underwent a sea change after this piece. Acknowledging the importance of Manjrekar’s earlier remarks in motivating his progress, Ashwin contacted him to express gratitude for the initial critique that had motivated his work ethic in the years prior.
Ravichandran continues to play cricket in different formats after retiring from international cricket. He expanded his playing career outside of the international arena by making appearances in Major League Cricket. In the prior season, he was also signed to the Big Bash League, but an injury prevented him from competing.
