Basking in the glory of becoming India’s third highest Test wicket-taker, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he feared his career would not survive the chaos unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The 35-year-old Ashwin, who took his 419th wicket in his 80th Test to surpass Harbhajan Singh (417 in 103 Tests) on Monday, said he thought his career was at “crossroads” after India’s New Zealand tour early last year.
“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,” Ashwin said in an interview by India team-mate Shreyas Iyer for the BCCI website.
“I had not played (India’s) last Test in Christchurch (which began on February 29, 2020). I was standing at the crossroads thinking whether I would play Tests again, where is my future headed, do I get in to 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.
Ashwin said Harbhajan inspired him to take up off-spin after he saw the veteran’s exploits during the historic Test series against Australia in 2001.
“When he (Harbhajan) was bowling that wonderful spell against Australia in 2001, I never thought I would even be an off-spinner (one day) on that particular day.
“But, inspired by him, I picked up the ball to bowl off-spin and here I am. Thank you Bhajji pa for inspiring me.
