Former BCCI and TNCA president N Srinvasan lauded Ashwin for his dedication and hard work. “To be selected (for India) itself is difficult. Then you have to take wickets, overcome obstacles in your journey and move on. Thus taking 500 wickets is a remarkable achievement. Plus he can bat too (has Test centuries). Ashwin is a fine exponent of off spin bowling,” complimented N Srinivasan.
Former India cricketer, captain and chief selector K Srikkanth, who has seen Ashwin grow as a cricketer, insisted that the ace offie had made Tamil Nadu cricket proud with his achievement. Another former India captain Anil Kumble spoke about the common threads he has with Ashwin. “Many pundits believe there’s a lot of similarity between Ashwin’s career and mine. I can’t honestly say that isn’t true. We both put pressure on the batters. Not just them. The closing fielders, the standing umpires. And in Ashwin’s case, the non striker. The third umpire. Because of the DRS reviews. And sometimes on one occasion. I remember in a TNPL match he reviewed a DRS review. And that’s Ashwin for you,” said Kumble.
Ashwin thanked one and all for making his journey so far wonderful. He turned nostalgic and spoke right from his Under-14 days to an International cricketer. He narrated how he got into the Chennai Super Kings team and then how he went ahead in his career. He made it a point to mention all the cricketers present right from the junior level to the state and national level who made his journey memorable with little anecdotes.
