Ravichandran Ashwin picks batters with best cover drive and pull stroke, names an Englishman and an Aussie
Seasoned Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently named his choices for the players with the best cover drive and the pull stroke. Many fans were expecting the answers to be Ashwin's teammates Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, respectively. Instead, the offie, who is known to spring a few surprises on and off the field, went for an Englishman and an Australian.
While making an appearance on journalist Vimal Kumar's YouTube channel, Ashwin took part in a Q&A session. He answered various queries related to cricket. One of them pertained to picking the batter who plays the best cover drive and the best pull shot. While Kohli and Rohit are renowned for their cover drives and pull strokes, respectively, Ashwin went for Marcus Trescothick and Ricky Ponting.
Trescothick, a prolific left-handed opening batter for England, featured in 76 Tests, 123 ODIs and three T20Is from 2000 to 2006, scoring 10326 runs. His career was, however, cut short due to a stress-related illness as he retired from international cricket in 2008.
Ponting is regarded as one of the finest pullers ever and a batting legend. He amassed 27483 runs in international cricket.
"I haven't decided" - Ravichandran Ashwin on retirement
Ashwin will next be seen in action when India take on Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, which starts in Chennai on Thursday, September 19. The experienced cricketer has so far featured in exactly 100 Tests and has claimed 516 wickets at an average of 23.75, with 36 five-fers and eight 10-wicket match hauls.
The veteran Tamil Nadu cricketer will turn 38 on September 17. As such, there have been some talks about his retirement. The man himself, however, is not thinking about it. Asked about the same, he told Vimal Kumar:
"There is nothing like that in my mind. I am only thinking about one day at a time because when you get older, you have to put in extra effort every single day. It's not the same. I have put in a lot of effort in the last 3-4 years. I haven't decided (retirement), but the day I feel that today I don't want to improve, I will leave. That's all."
Apart from his Test exploits, Ashwin has also featured in 116 ODIs and 65 T20Is, and has claimed 156 and 72 wickets respectively. He was part of the Indian squad that finished runners-up in the 2023 ODI World Cup at home.