Dear Ravichandran Ashwin,
I guess I have written countless letters to you before. No matter how many I write more, you continue to impress us with every passing game you play. You have aged like fine wine and no matter who says what, I will keep on writing more for you. You out of all people deserve this.
Very few bowlers can boast of being in the 500-member club. Well, it is not exactly about the numbers here. What’s more important is the path that you had to take. The journey is a lot more challenging than one can imagine. The road is rife with thorns and you will have to brave it all.
🎥🥹 Ashwin’s 5⃣0⃣0⃣th Wicket moment!
🫡 From the grind to greatness, a saga of sheer determination and boundless passion! #RavichandranAshwin #Ashwin500 #INDvENG #INDvsENG #TeamIndia #BharatArmy #COTI🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Yj74OngIlR
— The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) February 16, 2024
You know they say that most of the wickets for you have come in India and that somewhat takes away your credibility. Well, let’s have a look at James Anderson’s heroic feat. The man has 696 Test wickets out of which 434 came in England. For you out of 500 wickets, 347 came in India. Seems that when it happens to players in England and Australia, they are hailed as legends but whenever an Indian does it, so many excuses take shape.
Nevertheless, Ravichandran Ashwin, getting back to your feat, you know there is a term called unplayable and the ones who have been adorned with this honour, it came at a great cost. It came with sacrifices. It came with wait and a wait long enough to leave one possibly frustrated at times.
At times, it gets challenging for you and at times overwhelming. You barely made it to the surface on occasions and there were occasions where you were flying high in the sky. This is cricket. It is not going to be a smooth ride home but it is going to be worth it.
The journey is what has made you special and that is the one worth remembering. That ride into glory may have been chaotic but when has a song with the most uniform tone ever made a hymn for glory. Thank you Ash for the special feat. However, you are still far away from the end of the road. Let’s get the highway now and add more laurels to the cabinet.
Yours sincerely,
A crazy cricket fan
