The Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin is India’s premier spinner in the longest format of the game. He is regarded as one of the finest spinners of the current era. His record in International cricket is sensational. Being a sensational player with such a high caliber, the news of him not being in the playing squad is nothing but more like a treat for the opposition.
And this is what the opposition team desired during Ravichandran Ashwin’s playing days. Known for giving the opposition a run for their money gave nightmares to his opposition, so much so that the opposition ended up in getting him kidnapped.
Yes, you read that right. Ravichandran Ashwin was kidnapped by his opposition team during his playing days, years ago.
In an exclusive interview with ‘Cricbuzz’ Ravichandran recalled an incident where he was kidnapped. Well, Ravichandran Ashwin narrated how some members or fans of a team he was supposed to play against took him away and didn’t let him play the match. And that’s not it, the guys also threatened to have his fingers chopped. Narrating the incident, Ravichandran Ashwin said:
“My friend had the habit of getting me playing tennis-ball tournaments, My dad clearly didn’t like it. He doesn’t appreciate me playing on the roads as well. So, one of those days we were supposed to play this final and we have this culture of people priding themselves on winning a competition like that. When I was about to leave, there were like 4-5 guys who came on a Royal Enfield. They were muscular and big and stuff like that. They just picked me up and said ‘we gotta go’”.
He continued:
“I asked ‘who?’ and they said ‘No, you’re playing the match here, right? We have come to pick you up,’. So, I said wow, they have arranged for a pickup. And it feels great. And what happened is I sat behind one person and the other person sat right behind me as if I was going to get up and go and I was properly sandwiched between them,”
Ravichandran Ashwin narrated how the members who kidnapped him took him to a tea shop where he was treated to some snacks and refreshments at the tea shop. He said:
“I must have been about 14-15. They took me to a nice, posh tea shop. A tea shop is a big culture thing in Chennai. Next to all grounds there is a tea shop, with benches and all that. They ordered the bhajjis and vadas and all that. They said ‘Have, have. Don’t be afraid, we are here to help you’. At around 3:30-4 o clock, I said match is going to start, let’s go,”
Explaining his reaction when he got to know about the real story, he said:
“They said ‘No, we are actually from the opposition. We wanted to stop you from playing. If you go and play, we’ll make sure your fingers are not there’. I just kept staring at them and was like ‘Okay, yeah’.”
“So, we had a gala time for the next hour and a half then I said look, my father will be back from office. I got to go home. I’ll not play the match. I promise you. Then they said okay. They picked me up and dropped me home,”
