Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin hailed Rajasthan Royals’ director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara in a candid interview given by the spinner as posted by RR’s social media handles.
Ravi Ashwin was recently bought for INR 5 crore in the Indian Premier League Mega-Auction by Rajasthan Royals. The sensational spinner looked extremely excited and said that he was looking forward to a good connection with the legendary bowler Kumar Sangakkara when the tournament will kickstart on March 26.
Ashwin also hoped that he would get to discuss a lot of cricket with the legendary Sri Lankan captain. He said: “Sanga is a lovely gentleman, whenever I’ve interacted with him. The first time I met him was when we were having dinner with Dinesh Karthik in Sri Lanka and that was the first time I Sanga. We were on a tour to Sri Lanka and a lovely gentleman and quite an intellectual man. So, I am looking forward to a good connect with him and discuss a lot of cricket.”
Kumar Sangakkara, who is hailed as one of the greatest cricketers to have ever played the game, retired from the longest format of the game in 2015 after the second Test match at the P Sara Oval against India.
This particular match was won by the Indian cricket team, which proved to be quite an emotional one for the legendary cricketer. Interestingly, it was Ravi Ashwin who dismissed Kumar in both the innings of the Test match, something that he will cherish all his life. Talking about the same, he said:
“I played a couple of Test matches, dismissed him a few times. It’s safe to say that Sanga retired then and there because, you know all these big batters when they get out to a certain bowler, they make plans and they come out hungrier, trying to dominate you.”
He added:
“But I was, in a way, you know, happy that I dismissed him, happy that he was going to retire and I was a part of that game and quietly relaxed inside that he will not come up front and battle against me again,”
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