Wasnât able to feel my fingers or hands bowling on debut, reveals Ravichandran Ashwin
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Ravichandran Ashwin, who made his international debut in 2010 against Sri Lanka, has revealed how his hands turned numb just before bowling his first international over and how he initially struggled to find the rhythm. Ashwin has since represented India in 228 international matches.
Nervousness and anxiety have resulted in the undoing of many a young sportsperson over the years, and the case was no different for a young Ravichandran Ashwin when he made his international debut against Sri Lanka in 2010, at the age of 24. The off-spinner, in an interactive show with Gaurav Kapoor on Youtube, recalled how his hands turned numb as soon as he was summoned upon to bowl and how he erred in his line and length for four deliveries.
He then revealed that he forced himself to bowl full on the fifth ball, something which paid rich dividends as the former Chennai Super Kings man, on that very delivery, registered his international scalp in the form of Upul Tharanga. Eventually, Ashwin finished with figures of 2/50 on debut.
âThe first four balls in my debut game, I couldnât feel my fingers or my hands. Whatever I tried to bowl, it wasnât falling in the spot. And the fifth ball I said to myself, âI need to loosen up. Wherever this ball goes, it needs to go fullâ and I bowled it and it landed perfectly,â Ashwin told Kapoor in the video.
While Ashwin became a known entity to the world through his startling performances for CSK in the IPL, whatâs often overlooked is his outstanding performances in the Ranji Trophy that came even before the inception of IPL. In 2006, a 20-year-old Ashwin wreaked havoc in the domestic circuit, claiming 31 wickets in just four matches for his state side Tamil Nadu, and the veteran off-spinner recalled his memorable debut season that made him a force to be reckoned with.
âI had a great debut season. I played only four games that year, but got 31 wickets and I was the bowler of the year (for Tamil Nadu). Thankfully we played in one really helpful wicket in the last game against Baroda, we had a turner and I got about 12 wickets in that game. It was very, very memorable.âÂ
After captaining the Kings XI Punjab franchise for two seasons, Ashwin, ahead of the IPL 2020 auction, was drafted by Delhi Capitals. The 33-year-old is a two-time IPL winner with the Chennai Super Kings franchise.Â
