DHARAMSALA: The year was 2007.
Tamil Nadu were playing Karnataka at the Port Trust Golden Jubilee Stadium, Visakhapatnam in a U-22 Col. CK Nayudu Trophy match. Karnataka needed 80 runs on the final day. R Ashwin, at that point, was still a middle-order batter dabbling with some off-spin. He had bowled 55.4 overs in the first innings to take five wickets. On the final day, despite the small target, he was not ready to let go. He bowled 9.3 overs for four wickets — CM Gautam, R Jonathan, G Dhiman and AA Verma — making Karnataka work for runs.
While they would eventually get across the line with five wickets to spare, on that evening, Ashwin was in a shared auto with his teammate KB Arun Karthik, taking a ride along the Vizag beach. “I was telling him ‘macha (buddy), I think you will play for India soon. This spell, not many will know but the way you bowled your heart out, it could have been easy to let go, but the way you fought, the attitude to try and win come what may... that will take you to Indian team’. Ashwin seemingly said, ‘If I play for India, my first treat is for you, macha’."
It may be 17 years removed from that moment but Arun Karthik still remembers it like yesterday. “I’m still waiting for my treat," he laughs.
On Thursday morning, when the fifth and final Test against England begins, R Ashwin will feature in his 100th Test. He will be only the 14th Indian and first from Tamil Nadu to get to the milestone. While Arun Karthik may still be waiting for his treat, watching Ashwin evolve into one of India's greatest red-ball match winners has been a treat in itself.
On Tuesday, having arrived at the HPCA Stadium on the foothills of the Dhauladhar range, the 37-year-old took a lap around the ground before coming for a media interaction. He was sitting there answering questions about a milestone he would have never imagined when he took to off-spin.
He understood its significance and spoke about the journey being bigger than the destination. He also mentioned the “psychic in him” who keeps him in an uncomfortable space with a constant need to find solutions. Ask him what it meant to be the first cricketer from his state to achieve this milestone and he said that it was an experience that he would want to share with many more who come from his part of the country.
It was only when the conversation turned towards his family that Ashwin paused. “This 100th Test match means at least 10 to 100-times more to my dad than it does to me,” he said. “It probably means a lot more to my wife than it does to me and my mom. In fact, my daughters are more excited about this game than I am frankly. It's just another number and I think I have reiterated it again and again. I am not saying it is not a great feat. For different purposes, for where I come from, what I've done and how it can be a changing point for my state, I think it is a great achievement. Beyond that, I think playing Test matches for such a long time and even playing Indian cricket for a long time and being on the road, the kind of sacrifices the family needs to make is enormous. There is a lot more emphasis on the value that the family brings to the table in countries beyond India. I think it still doesn't dawn upon us.
“When families tour abroad, I think people get the feeling that they're on a holiday. It actually isn't. You're booted up inside a hotel room. Once you lose, you don't feel like going down for dinner, you're ordering in all the time, and it's hard work. The kind of mental agony that they go through is phenomenal. My father feels obliged to pick up 40 calls and answer why his son wasn't the greatest on a particular day, (it) can be extremely cruel. I've told him over the years that you're not obliged to answer to anybody. Even now, my dad watches the game like he watches the first Test match I played. He's had a heart failure, he's gone to the hospital twice, my mom's again been to the hospital. I don't know for what joy they're doing it but they continue doing it and it is a wonderful story. Every household has these stories, you see many more people coming through from different hamlets of the country. Just because they hail from a country with a billion people, doesn't mean their journeys and families should mean lesser.”
Through the conversation, one theme remained. Gratitude. Ashwin acknowledged how grateful he was. He also underlined the importance of being at the right place at the right time to represent the country.
Perseverance is the word
Arun Karthik, meanwhile, stressed upon the magnitude of what Ashwin has achieved. “He is not the most naturally gifted physically. But he persevered through the ups and downs, criticisms, he never gave up. That is the one word I will say about him. The way he thinks about the game is just ahead of its time. He is like the Kamal Hassan of Indian cricket,” says Arun Karthik.
He remembers frustrating conversations the duo had while warming the bench in the 2009 IPL, how Ashwin would talk about what he would have done in a certain situation to win the match. “In the second half of 2010 season, when he got the chance, Ashwin showed everything we spoke about. I was there listening to all he said and then witnessed him go and do it the next year, helping Chennai Super Kings win the title. I think we will only understand what he has done to inspire a generation of cricketers years down the line.”
Beneath everything that has brought Ashwin thus far remains the one constant; his love for the game. “Give him the ball and he will just keep bowling at a stick. He will go to the beach and join whoever is playing. He used to conduct underarm tournaments in his neighbourhood when we were very young. He just eats, sleeps and breathes cricket. Winning and losing is secondary, he just wants to play. This is what he likes, this is what he loves. That is why he is able to play as long as he has. Without the experimentation and hunger and the question of what next, it is that process that has kept him in the game,” says Arun Karthik.
No one knows how many more Tests Ashwin will play, even he doesn’t. He just wants to enjoy playing while he can. But come Thursday, he would have achieved a feat that only a handful of people from the country have been able to. And that milestone in itself is an acknowledgment of what he has done for Indian cricket.
