Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on his initial inspiration in cricket

Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been a regular presence on his YouTube channel, where he discusses recent cricketing news and shares his experiences. In a recent episode, he reflected on his early career and the initial inspiration he drew from Harbhajan Singh, explaining how the legendary off-spinner shaped his perspective on the game during his formative years. This conversation took place in a special episode discussing the evolving nature of sledging and banter in Indian cricket. 

Ashwin revealed that his fascination with Harbhajan's style began when he was playing Under-19 cricket under Dinesh Karthik's captaincy; at that time, he even used to mimic Harbhajan's bowling action. 

Under Dinesh Karthik's captaincy, I played Under-19 cricket for the first time. Back then, I used to bat a bit and didn't bowl as much. So, whenever I bowled, I used to bowl with Bhajju Pa's bowling action because I was genuinely a fan. When Bhajju Pa came onto the scene, every day I used to copy his bowling action while playing gully cricket. And actually, his dismissal of Ricky Ponting, and the dismissal of Matthew Hayden while bowling from over the stumps, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I watched all those matches very closely," Ashwin said on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles'.

"But I never thought I'd become an off-spinner. In my mind, it was always batting. But when he used to bowl, there was something about him, his character, his ability to stand up to everyone and take the fight. So, I really liked that generation. I was genuinely a fan of him, and from there, I never imagined I would come this far," he added.

Ravichandran Ashwin also recalled an incident involving England fast bowler James Anderson during a Test series in India. Anderson had made a comment after Virat Kohli scored a double century in Mumbai and India's first-innings total reached 631 runs; Ashwin expressed disappointment with the remark, stating that it lacked sportsmanship. 

"Jimmy Anderson is a great bowler and bowled really well throughout his career, with unbelievable skills! They batted first and made 450-odd in the first innings in Mumbai. After that, we were 330 for six at one point before Virat smashed a magnificent double hundred. He completely took control and helped us overhaul their score, and we got to 630-odd," Ashwin said.

"We were about to inflict an innings defeat on them, and that very day, Anderson came for the press conference and said, 'This is India, let him come to England.' Man, how hard is it for you to give someone credit? So, I felt it was below the line. We have a lot of respect for him, but he shouldn't have said that," he added.

Harbhajan Singh also joined the discussion, explaining how the Indian Premier League (IPL) has transformed the nature of on-field banter, as renowned domestic and international players share the same dressing room. He acknowledged that sledging has decreased since the advent of the IPL but emphasized the importance of maintaining a competitive atmosphere.

"After the arrival of the IPL, the sledging and banter have reduced a bit because earlier, it used to happen a lot. But the IPL brought everyone closer as you share the dressing room with those players, you meet them regularly, play alongside them, and sit and chat together. But I feel that in sport, a little bit of banter, a bit of exchange, should be there, as long as it doesn't cross the line," Harbhajan said.