I Used To Bowl Medium Pace When I Was Young To Try To Be The Next Kapil Paaji: Ravichandran Ashwin

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has always been a huge fan of Kapil Dev right from his childhood. On Sunday, he managed to go past his idol’s tally of wickets to become India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests.

Ashwin revealed that he was always interested in batting but seeing the Kapil played, his dad advised him to try to bowl medium pace. Luckily for India, he opted to try spin instead, despite being an opening batter for Tamil Nadu in his early days.

“Feeling so humbled. 28 years ago, I was cheering for Kapil Paaji along with my dad when he went past Richard Hadlee’s record. Even in my wildest dream, I never thought of going past his tally of wickets.”

“Because I always wanted to be a batsman especially when I started off as an eight-year-old. In 1994, my batting was my fascination. Sachin Tendulkar was just emerging into the scene and Kapil Dev himself was a terrific striker of the ball,” Ashwin told on his YouTube channel.

“I never thought I would play for India” – Ravichandran Ashwin

Ashwin is quite a hard-working man and he sets examples for youngsters to follow, especially when it comes to resolve and determination. He has fought through injuries and has retained his spot in the side based on his skills.

However, playing for India is quite an honor and something that still amazes Ashwin to this day. He asserted that he is quite grateful for the opportunity to represent his nation.

“In fact, I used to bowl medium pace on my dad’s advice back then so that I can try to be the next Kapil Paaji. From then to become an off-spinner and to represent India for so many years… I never thought I would play for India. I am so grateful and so humbled on this achievement,” Ashwin stated.

Ashwin is on his way to becoming the eighth most successful bowler. He can go past Dale Steyn’s tally of 439 wickets in the next Test against Sri Lanka.

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