CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), during its council meeting on Friday, approved a resolution to rename Ramakrishnapuram First Street in West Mambalam as Ravichandran Ashwin Road to honour the exceptional contributions of the cricketer, who announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket in December.
Ashwin's house is on this road where he played numerous childhood games of cricket as recounted in his book I Have the Streets: A Kutty Cricket Story.
The GCC sent a proposal to the government in this regard following a letter by S Karthick, the chief operating officer of Carrom Ball Event & Marketing Pvt Ltd, who advocated renaming either Ramakrishnapuram First Street or Aryagowda Road after Ashwin.
In his letter, he had highlighted Ashwin's representation of India and Tamil Nadu in numerous matches, earning several awards and accolades. As one of the world’s best all-rounders and a native of Tamil Nadu, Ashwin's achievements are a source of immense pride, he noted.
After the government gave its nod to GCC’s proposal, the resolution was passed at the meeting on Friday to rename Ramakrishnapuram First Street.
Ashwin, who retired from all forms of international cricket at the age of 38 on December 18, 2024, following the drawn third Test between Australia and India in Brisbane, was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in January 2025. He is set to play for Chennai Super Kings in the upcoming 18th season of the Indian Premier League, starting on Saturday.
As an off-spinner, he has taken 537 wickets and won 10 Man of the Match awards as well as 11 Man of the Series awards in Tests.
It's not the first time a road is being named after an Indian cricket legend this year. In February, a road was named after Sunil Gavaskar in Kerala's Kasargod.