Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian cricketer who competes internationally for his country. On a domestic basis, Ashwin represents Tamil Nadu in first-class cricket. In the Indian Premier League, he also plays for Kings XI Punjab.
Ashwin, a right-arm off-break bowler, is one of India’s best spinners. Ashwin is well-known for his ability to turn the ball in both directions. Ashwin is also known for his leg spinners and carrom ball. This makes him not only one of India’s top spinners, but also one of the best in the world.
Records
After Australian spinner Clarrie Grimmett, Ashwin is the fastest Indian bowler and the second-fastest bowler in the world to cross 200 Test wickets.
He was also the first Indian bowler to reach 100 Test wickets in 18 matches, and the fifth fastest in the world.
In two separate Test matches, he became the first Indian cricketer to score a century and take five wickets.
On debut, Ashwin becomes the third Indian cricketer to be named Man of the Match (MoM).
With 9/128, Ashwin had the second-best debut performance by an Indian bowler.
In Test matches, he is the first Indian to reach 50 wickets (9 games).
In a four-Test series against Australia, he is India’s leading wicket-taker (28 wickets).
The 280-run partnership between Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin in 2013 was India’s highest in Tests for the seventh wicket. It was also India’s second-highest wicket-by-wicket partnership against the West Indies in Tests.
For the first time in T20I history, an Indian has taken 50 wickets.
With 52 wickets, he is India’s highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 International cricket.
The Most Man-of-the-Series Award is given to the player who has played the most games in the series (6)
Fastest five-wicket haul from 1st to 20th.
Took the shortest time to cross 250 test wickets.
In a single domestic season, he has taken the most wickets for India (64).
The bowler who took the most fifers in the fastest time.
Bowler with the most wickets in a home season (79).
Indian to reach 150 wickets in the quickest time.
The second-fastest Indian to reach 200 wickets.
In his 54th Test, he became the first bowler to cross 300 Test wickets.
Awards and Accolades
ICC Test Team of the Year: 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 Arjuna Award: 2014
Dilip Sardesai Award, given by the BCCI to India’s best cricketer in 2010–11 and 2015–16.
Polly Umrigar Award for International Cricketer of the Year, given by the BCCI in 2012–13
2016 ICC Test Player of the Year
2016 ICC Cricketer of the Year
2016–17 CEAT International Cricketer of the Year
Career
Domestic Career
Ashwin was once a top-order batsman. He used to open the innings for India’s under-17 team, but due to his poor form, he was replaced by Rohit Sharma. He was a specialist bowler for the Tamil Nadu and South Zone cricket teams. While Ashwin began his career as a fast bowler, he quickly switched to spin bowling.
IPL Career
In 2009, Ashwin made his IPL debut with the Chennai Super Kings. He went on to win two IPL titles in a row with CSK in 2010 and 2011. Following Chennai Super Kings’ two-year suspension, Ashwin was drafted by Rising Pune Supergiants in 2016. Ashwin participated in the 2016 season but was forced to miss the 2017 season due to sports hernia. For the 2018 edition of the IPL, Kings XI Punjab purchased Ashwin for 7.6 crores and named him captain. The mankading of Jos Buttler in IPL 2019 was one of the most contentious events in Ashwin’s IPL career.
International Career
Ashwin’s outstanding results in the 2010 Indian Premier League secured him a place in the team that would tour Zimbabwe in May and June of that year. On June 5, 2010, he made his One-Day International debut against the Sri Lankan cricket team. On his debut, Ashwin scored 38 off 32 balls and took 2/50. In the three-match home ODI series against Australia in October, Ashwin was once again picked, and he proved his worth by taking one wicket from nine overs while allowing just 34 runs.
Still, after a depressing average of over 62.00, Ashwin’s efficacy was called into question. Following a series of underwhelming results, Ashwin eventually made amends in the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy final in England, where he took two wickets for just 15 runs in four overs in a 20-overs-a-side match. Since then, Ashwin has been a regular member of India’s ODI team.
In the first match of the season, Ashwin made his Test debut against the West Indies cricket team in Delhi on November 6, 2011. Ashwin was named Man of the Match after bowling extremely well in both innings, taking 3/81 in the first and 6/47 in the second. On his Test debut, Ashwin became the third Indian player to win the trophy. In the same series, Ashwin became just the third Indian to score a century and take five wickets in the same game.
As a result of his all-round results, Ashwin was named Man of the Series. In the series against England in late 2012, Ashwin became the quickest Indian to 50 Test wickets. Since Australia’s four-Test tour of India in February–March 2013, when he took 29 wickets, the most by an Indian bowler in a four-match test series, Ashwin’s Test career has evolved into what we see today. He was called Man of the Series.
In Harare, Ashwin made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe. In four overs, he took 1/22. Ashwin was selected for the tri-series against the New Zealand cricket team and hosts Sri Lanka as a result of his success. However, Ashwin did not get a chance in the series, as Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja were chosen over him.
As India travelled to Bangladesh for the 2014 Asia Cup and the 2014 ICC World Twenty20, Ashwin regained his place in the squad. In both of these tournaments, Ashwin was pivotal to India’s progress. Ashwin was named in both the ICC and Cricinfo’s ‘Team of the Tournament’ for the 2014 T20 World Cup due to his outstanding results.
World Cup
Along with Harbhajan Singh and Piyush Chawla, Ashwin was named to the 15-member ICC World Cup team. Despite playing just two games in the World Cup, Ashwin made an impression. In March 2011, Ashwin made his World Cup debut against the West Indies. He bowled 2/41 in 10 overs to end with figures of 2/41. While Ashwin contributed to India’s victory in the tournament, he did not play in either the semi-final or the final.
Family
Ashwin was born in Tamil Nadu on September 17, 1986. He remained in Chennai’s West Mambalam neighbourhood. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashwin’s father, was a fast bowler in club cricket. On November 13, 2011, Ashwin married his childhood friend Prithi Narayanan. Their first daughter, Akhira, was born on July 11, 2015, and their second daughter, Aadhya, was born in December 2016.