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#Ashwin #superstar #quiet #Sports
I first met Ashwin when I was six and he was nine, riding his father’s Hero Honda CD100. He was big for his age. We were mentored by CS Umapathy, a disciplined man. Practice will begin at six o’clock, and for the batsmen it will be all about one thing – guessing the length. Half Volley: Drive. Good length: Defence. Short: back foot. This was our morning routine every day.
I didn’t pay much attention to Ash then. We were all just regular kids playing cricket because we loved it. The next time I saw him was at an under-12 tournament at my school. When I scored my first century in school cricket, he was injured and was actually the scorer. It’s a vivid memory because I once celebrated a 90-odd and then I heard applause after ten or so runs. Only then did I realize that the scorer had messed up the numbers. My team mates were happy that I got my century and didn’t throw it away after the first celebration.
Ashwin went to a school known for producing academically successful students. I thought at the time that he had stopped playing because of his injury and was now concentrating on his studies. Little did I know! Mostly I remember thinking, “Couldn’t he just score?”
We were in the same school in 2004-05. He was in grade 11 and I was in grade 8. He was a big boy at the time, just coming back from a serious injury. We started batting together. He was taller than most boys of that age and a very good short-pitch bowler, and the mat wickets helped him play. His cuts and pulls were great. I thought to myself that maybe it was his father’s liking for Gandappa Vishwanath. Chennai’s father has long been united in his professional love for Veshi. “Play cut like this!”
Ashwin and my father’s race was not different. Still, I didn’t think Ashwin would become a professional cricketer, as there was nothing unusual about his game.
At that time he hardly bowled due to his injury, only some part-time off-spin, and we already had two good off-spinners playing for our team.
But we had a problem. St Bede’s, our school, was close to the coast, and it was very windy in the afternoon. The fast bowlers will struggle to control the swing in the first 15 overs and we will leak extras only because of that.
So we came up with a temporary solution. Throw the ball to Ash, who will come in with his Harbhajan Singh bowling action, with six fielders on the offside – three behind for the cut. Not a single ball would turn, but it would move away from the pace. It was impossible for schoolboys to bat, and if they did, they would find themselves surrounded by three fielders near point. This was a great strategy for our school team: we got top with Ash, and the other two offices would eliminate mid and death.
We graduated from school and met again as opponents in league cricket. It was a young Alvarpet team led by De Vaso, who could bowl fast and spin. Ashwin got five in that game, but we were a cheater. The ball was turning, and by then it had its own action. I started taking him a bit seriously because he was batting at number 4 for that team and he was also taking five wickets.
He was called up to the Ranji team in late 2006 and led Tamil Nadu to a famous win against Baroda when we were battling relegation. The TN team was going through a change at the time after several players had moved to the Indian Cricket League. He handed over the captaincy to Ash for the MJ Gopalan Trophy game against Sri Lanka. He had played only four first-class games up to that point, and this match was one where five of us, myself included, were making our first-class debuts. We were beaten by a strong Sri Lankan side by an innings, but what stood out for me in the game was how Ashwin matured into a thoughtful off-spinner who wasn’t afraid to innovate. Michael Wendort was an unusually tall opener – he would put his front foot forward and stop good balls. For this one, Ashwin had me very close to the pitch at an unorthodox silly point/mid-off, and Vandoorte blocked one straight into my hands. It was the beginning of a fruitful partnership with Ashwin for me under the helmet.
By 2008 we had become teammates in club cricket, Vijay left for CC. The three years from 2008 to 2010 were some of our best as a club. Looking back, I’m thankful I never encountered it anywhere but on the Net – not then and not at any other point in my career.
We were also roommates. I remember once we were playing a semi-final in Nagpur against UP, and the night before the game, Ashwin took out his diary and had a long talk with his mother about his plans for the next day. Once the clock struck eight, the TV went off, and he settled into his favorite routine: watching an 8 pm Tamil movie on TV. The AC would be on full blast, and between that and the loud noise of the TV, I would beg Ashwin to turn the temperature up and the volume down, so I could sleep.
“Please da Ash, Naliki Mech Da.” [There is a game tomorrow.] Things would be quiet for a few minutes and then he would burst out laughing at a scene in the movie, much to my annoyance. He was always a good student who was very prepared for a game and wanted to make it easy by going through his film routine the day before the game.
It actually got him into a lot of trouble. He will not show up for the optional practice session the day before the game. For a young cricketer, this kind of thing makes you question your work ethic, and can be interpreted as laziness. Ash wouldn’t budge despite all this. There will be only one answer: question me if I don’t perform in the game. It says a lot about his stubbornness and desire to perform.
When Ash eventually became captain, he would come to optional practice sessions to help the other boys but never for himself. And his mind was in overdrive throughout. You could never keep him quiet.
During the long bus rides when traveling for the Ranji Trophy, he was always a backbencher. He would gather a group of boys and play a funny game called Mafia – a simple game of deduction, where he would be the moderator and watch the action unfold.
I remember even in my early years in club cricket, sitting in the dressing room with him and he would bring a pen and paper and we would do these mock auction picks and drafts for every team in the IPL. , and used to plan how the parties would balance. .
This restless intelligence means that he never fails to surprise you every time you talk to him. For example, I called him during the last IPL and he spoke for 45 minutes about neural networks and AI and how it is impacting the shortest form of the game. He texted me just before the auction, sending me ESPNcricinfo’s list of impact numbers for the two halves of the IPL season.
His many interests have spawned multiple incarnations. There’s the cricketer who keeps his notes handy, the guy who runs the YouTube channel, the coach at his academy, and I’m sure he stays up-to-date with the latest movies while watching old classics at 8pm. Enjoys. (I’m glad he didn’t do cricket scoring, though!) -cricinfo
