Ravichandran Ashwin (File Photo/ Reuters)
Ravichandran Ashwin revealed an incident when he had been abducted by players of the opposition team and they had threatened to cut off his fingers if he played in a tournament’s final.
Speaking about when he used to play tennis ball tournaments in Chennai as a youngster, Ashwin said on a Cricbuzz show: “We were supposed to play a final… As I was about to leave, there were four or five guys who came in Royal Enfields – properly muscular and big.
“They picked me up and said come we’ve got to go. I asked ‘who?’ and they said ‘you’re playing the match here, right? We’ve come to pick you up. I was like wow they’ve arranged for a pick-up, and it feels great. I mean Royal Enfield… what happened is I sat behind one person and another person sat right behind me as if I was going to get off and go. I was properly sandwiched between both of them.
Always good to know what went into the making of a cricketer. This is candid and introduces you to the person behind the player we see. Have loved watching @ashwinravi99 play. Now enjoyed meeting the family @prithinarayanan. @cricbuzz. https://t.co/HmWHP9Ss2U
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) February 15, 2020
“I must’ve been about 14 or 15. They took me to a posh tea stall. A tea shop is a big culture thing in Chennai. Next to all the grounds, there is a tea shop which has got those benches and all that. They made me sit there, ordered bajjis and vadas and all that, and have, have, don’t be afraid, we’re here to help you out’. It was around 3:30-4:00 PM and I said the match is going to start, let’s go. So they said, ‘no, no, we’re actually from the opposition, we wanted to stop you from playing. If you go and play we’ll make sure your fingers are not there,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin, who is part of the India Test side currently on a tour of New Zealand, is currently playing in the practice match being played against New Zealand XI side. Ashwin had figures of 1/46 in the home side’s innings. He took the wicket of Ish Sodhi – the last wicket to fall.