Was Ravichandran Ashwin unsure of playing Tests anymore until last year? (WATCH)
Ravichandran Ashwin gave a tough time to New Zealand in the opening Kanpur Test that ended in a draw. However, he has revealed that his career was at crossroads until last year.
FollowOn Monday, India and New Zealand settled for a competitive draw in the opening Test of the two-Test series at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. As for Indians, most of the cricketers played their respective roles in the win; veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, too, played his part, especially with his off-spins.
Following the draw, Ashwin spoke about his career, where he revealed that his career was in the crossroads a year back and was unsure if he would ever get back into the Test side. Ashwin has been heavily impactful in the format this year, while he has surpassed Harbhajan Singh to become India's third most successful Test bowler after Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev.
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"To be very modest about what is happening in my life and my career over the last couple of years, I did not know if I would go on to play Test cricket when we were in the pandemic, in the lockdown. I had not played last Test in Christchurch. I was standing at the crossroads thinking whether I would play Tests again, where is my future headed, do I get into the Test team, which is the only format I am playing. But, God has been kind, and I have been able to turn things around," he said in an interview with Shreyas Iyer.
Speaking on surpassing Harbhajan, he said that while he saw Bhajji bowling to Australia in 2001, he had never reckoned that he would become an off-spinner. But, he later got inspired by him. "Thank you, Bhajji pa, for inspiring me. It is a wonderful milestone. It is a matter of pride. I got my 200th wicket on the same ground, and now, I surpassed Harbhajan Singh's tally on this very same ground again," he concluded.
