"Stand here knowing what to expect.."- Ravichandran Ashwin looks straight into Brendon McCullum and warns him

Ravichandran Ashwin was a major award winner in the BCCI Awards, which took place in Hyderabad on Tuesday, January 23. He bagged the Dilip Sardesai Award and also won the International Cricketer of the Year award for the second time in his career.

The veteran Indian spinner who is closing in on 500 Test wickets was at his humorous best in the award function. In an interaction with Harsha Bhogle, Ashwin said that the “bazball” brand of cricket excites him.

“Bazball excites me. This kind of cricket impresses me. The fearless approach is good, and I am standing here knowing what to expect” said Ashwin.

Ravichandran Ashwin 10 Short Of 500 Test Wickets

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri who was also present at the award ceremony warned England about Ashwin’s abilities in home conditions. The ace Indian spinner has picked up 88 wickets against England in 12 Test matches and is closing in on becoming the first Indian bowler with 100 Test wickets against England. He has a chance to reach that summit in this series. He is also just 10 short of getting to 500 Test wickets becoming the only second Indian bowler after Anil Kumble to achieve that feat.

“Ashwin just mentioned, I am going to get up and do better. Now that he has had this haircut and his brains are free, with the air going through, now can you imagine what all he is thinking? There could be a ‘Teesra’, there could be a ‘choutha’. England will find out very soon, in the next couple of months,” Shastri said.

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India and England have both named their squads for the Test series. Kohli is unavailable for India in the first two Test matches with Rajat Patidar named his replacement. For England, Harry Brook has pulled out of the series due to personal reasons with Dan Lawrence named as his replacement.

England have lost their last two Test series against India in India in 2016-17 and 2021. India are aiming to win a Test series for the third consecutive time. India also defeated England 2-1 when India visited England in 2021. Their recent World Cup campaign in India also adds extra pressure on the visitors to put up a better performance against India at home.

Heading into this series, Australia are topping the WTC points table with India placing second. South Africa and New Zealand are placed third and fourth while England are placed eighth below teams like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and West Indies.

The fans from both sides are waiting with bated breath for the Test series to start. The first Test will be played in Hyderabad from January 25-29. Vizag hosts the second Test from February 2-6, followed by the third Test in Rajkot from February 15-19. The fourth Test will be played in Ranchi from February 23-27. The series concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala from March 7-11.

India Test Squad For First Two Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan

England Test Squad: Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (WK), Dan Lawrence, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.

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