Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed he used to copy Harbhajan Singh’s action in gully cricket. Ashwin said the Turbanator was an inspiration for him when he was trying to rise through the ranks.
Harbhajan and Ashwin are regarded as two of the best off-spinners produced by India. While Harbhajan bagged 417 wickets in 103 Test matches, Ashwin scalped 537 wickets in 106 Test matches.
Ashwin revealed his fascination with Harbhajan Singh’s action began when he was playing Under-19 cricket under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy.
“Under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy, I played Under-19 cricket for the first time. Back then, I used to bat a bit, and didn’t bowl as much. So, whenever I bowled, I used to bowl with Bhajju Pa’s bowling action because I was genuinely a fan. When Bhajju Pa came onto the scene, every day I used to copy his action while playing gully cricket. And actually, his dismissal of Ricky Ponting, and the dismissal of Matthew Hayden while bowling from over the stumps, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I watched all those matches very closely,” Ashwin said on JioHotstar’s ‘Cheeky Singles.
“But I never thought I’d become an off-spinner. In my mind, it was always batting. But when he used to bowl, there was something about him, his character, his ability to stand up to everyone and take the fight. So, I really liked that generation. I was genuinely a fan of him, and from there, I never imagined I would come this far,” he added.
On the other hand, Ashwin recalled when former England fast bowler James Anderson didn’t give credit to Virat Kohli, who scored a stunning double century in Indian conditions to put his team in front.
“Jimmy Anderson is a great bowler and bowled really well throughout his career, with unbelievable skills! They batted first and made 450-odd in the first innings in Mumbai. After that, we were 330 for six at one point before Virat smashed a magnificent double hundred. He completely took control and helped us overhaul their score, and we got to 630-odd,” Ashwin said.
“We were about to inflict an innings defeat on them, and that very day, Anderson came for the press conference and said, ‘This is India, let him come to England.’ Man, how hard is it for you to give someone credit? So, I felt it was below the line. We have a lot of respect for him, but he shouldn’t have said that,” he added.
Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket in May 2025.
