“Just cut off my call” – Laxman Sivaramakrishnan levels severe allegations on Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of latter’s 100th Test
Former Indian spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has alleged that Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t respond to his calls and ignored his messages ahead of the latter’s 100th Test. The 58-year-old further criticized Ashwin for his deeds while feeling it was because he suggested minor corrections in the offie's bowling action.
For the unversed, Ashwin is set to play his 100th Test when he takes to the field against England in Dharamshala on Thursday, March 7. Coincidentally, Jonny Bairstow will also play his 100th Test in the same game at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium.
Sivaramakrishnan, who hails from the same state (Tamil Nadu) as Ashwin, wrote on X:
“Tried calling him a few times to wish him for his 100th Test. Just cut off my call. Sent him a message, no reply. That's the respect we former cricketers get.”
“Respect comes only from cultured people. Btw, I was earlier tweeting about a minor correction in his action and not criticizing him. If only people understood,” he added.
Last year, Sivaramakrishnan had questioned Ashwin’s bowling action. Sharing a picture of Ashwin, he wrote on X:
“Do you still think that this bowling action is bio-mechanically correct??? That is all I am talking about.”
Sivaramakrishnan had even questioned the off-spinner's credentials in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) last year.
Interestingly, Sivaramakrishnan is no way near Ashwin when it comes to Test wickets. The former leg-spinner bagged 26 wickets in nine Tests for India. Ashwin, on the other hand, recently became only second Indian after former captain Anil Kumble to take 500-plus wickets in the traditional format.
“I don’t enjoy my success as much as I should have” – Ravichandran Ashwin explains his mantra to success
Ravichandran Ashwin, in a recent interaction with Anil Kumble, revealed that he always tries to become a better player instead of focusing on his achievements, which has helped him grow as a cricketer.
“My biggest pain has been the fact that I don’t enjoy my success as much as I should have. But, that has also helped me become a better cricketer. I have constantly looked for things to improve and I have made sure that I am very uncomfortable with who I am on a particular day. And then I get back to the drawing board and focus on what else I can do to bring more to the table,” he told Jio Cinema.
Kumble, meanwhile, reserved special praise for the off-spinner ahead of his landmark Test. He recently told the Hindustan Times:
“We will probably realize his quality when [he] retires and moves on. But in my book, Ash is in the top tier of players who have played for the country.”
Ravichandran Ashwin will become the 13th Indian to complete 100 Tests. Others are Sachin Tendulkar (200), Rahul Dravid (163), VVS Laxman (134), Anil Kumble (132), Kapil Dev (131), Sunil Gavaskar (125), Dilip Vengsarkar (116), Sourav Ganguly (113), Virat Kohli (113*), Ishant Sharma (105), Harbhajan Singh (103), Cheteshwar Pujara (103*), and Virender Sehwag (103).