Ashwin has kept art of spin bowling alive: BCCI Prez Roger Binny
CHENNAI: India's ace spinner and the ICC No 1 ranked Test bowler R Ashwin was felicitated by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association for playing 100 Tests and bagging 500 wickets at a glittering function at the MA Chidambaram here on Saturday.
Ashwin's father Ravichandran, his wife Prithi and his daughters were present at the Chepauk to watch him being honoured. The TNCA presented mementos for his 100 Tests, 500 wickets. Ashwin was presented with a Sengol - symbol of pride. TNCA also gave Ashwin a cash award of Rs 1 crore.
Former India player and BCCI president Roger Binny praised Ashwin, saying that the 37-year-old was not far behind the great spinners India had produced and insisted that the Chennai-based player had the same skill sets as the former greats. "It is a great pleasure to be here this evening to honour such a wonderful achievement (Ashwin's feat). Ashwin has brought great laurels not only to the TNCA but for the country. He has kept the art of spin bowling alive. I congratulate Ashwin and his family for the fantastic achievement. We hope that you stay fit, stay healthy and do well," said Binny.
Former BCCI and TNCA president N Srinvasan lauded Ashwin for his dedication and hard work. "To be selected (for India) itself is difficult. Then you have to take wickets, overcome obstacles in your journey and move on. Thus taking 500 wickets is a remarkable achievement. Plus he can bat too (has Test centuries). Ashwin is a fine exponent of off spin bowling," complimented N Srinivasan.
Former India cricketer, captain and chief selector K Srikkanth, who has seen Ashwin grow as a cricketer, insisted that the ace offie had made Tamil Nadu cricket proud with his achievement. Another former India captain Anil Kumble spoke about the common threads he has with Ashwin. "Many pundits believe there's a lot of similarity between Ashwin's career and mine. I can't honestly say that isn't true. We both put pressure on the batters. Not just them. The closing fielders, the standing umpires. And in Ashwin's case, the non striker. The third umpire. Because of the DRS reviews. And sometimes on one occasion. I remember in a TNPL match he reviewed a DRS review. And that's Ashwin for you," said Kumble.
Ashwin thanked one and all for making his journey so far wonderful. He turned nostalgic and spoke right from his Under-14 days to an International cricketer. He narrated how he got into the Chennai Super Kings team and then how he went ahead in his career. He made it a point to mention all the cricketers present right from the junior level to the state and national level who made his journey memorable with little anecdotes.
"Truly, truly, truly humbled and grateful. That is all. I can start off with this particular speech, but I don't generally search for words to express how I feel. But this is one such occasion where I'm truly, truly humbled and very grateful for what this wonderful game has given me. I don't know who to thank. In fact, the people sitting in this audience are all people that I know by name and I would be failing in my duties, If I didn't thank some of them. This very place is special (Chepauk). Long, long time ago I remember Kasi Viswanathan as we are seeing him today, the CEO of CSK, the former secretary of the TNCA. I remember him walking out of this one of these old doors here. It's an innovative place right now, in his formals congratulating me for being selected in the Tamil Nadu cricket team in the Under-14s. That's that really is how long ago all these people were interested and have truly made this journey," said Ashwin.