R Ashwin: Meet The Rajasthan Royals’ Spinning Wizard!

Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian international cricket player who has represented the country in Test, One Day International, and Twenty20 formats. A right-handed batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler, Ashwin plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.

Popularly known by his nickname ‘Ash’, the cricketer holds the record of being the fastest among Indian bowlers to take 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 test wickets. Currently, the highest-ranked spinner in Test cricket, Ashwin has been a recipient of the coveted Arjuna award and is also the third Indian to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award.

The cricketer is quite popular on social media platforms with a whopping 4.1 million followers on Facebook and 3.9 million followers on Instagram.

Physical Stats

R Ashwin Family

R Ashwin was born on 17 September 1986. His father Ravichandran was an employee with Southern Railways and he also used to play club-level cricket as a fast bowler. Ashwin’s mother’s name is Chitra.

R Ashwin Relationship

R Ashwin is married to his childhood friend Preethi Narayanan. Both of them were classmates in Class VIII and Class X.

Ashwin and Preeti are having two daughters.

Education

Ashwin did his schooling at Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan and St. Bede’s Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School. Later he completed his B. Tech degree in Information Technology from SSN College of Engineering.

Controversies

In September 2022, it stirred a controversy when Indian women’s team bowler Deepti Sharma dismissed England’s, Charlie Dean. Deepthi was in the middle of her bowling action and Charlie who was at the non-striker’s end was out of the crease.

On seeing that, Deepthi stopped herself, went back, and removed the bails thus dismissing Charlie in a runout.

Earlier, at the 2019 IPL, Ashwin who was then the Kings XI Punjab skipper had dismissed Jose Butler, the Rajasthan Royals batsman in a similar fashion. After Deepthi’s controversial dismissal, Ashwin came out in the public with a tweet, extending support to the female cricketer. 

In his tweet, Ashwin pondered the idea of awarding the wicket to the bowler in such instances as he/him have to show the presence of mind despite dealing with immense pressure. Sarcastically, he also suggested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to institute a bravery award for the players in such instances as they have to go through social stigma.

R Ashwin Profession

In his early days of cricket, Ashwin was primarily in the role of an opening batsman. During those times, he used to do spin bowling only as a secondary job. Later, when he was 14 years of age, Ashwin met with an injury in his pelvic area, which proved to be a turning point in his career.

After the injury, when he went back to the school team, someone else had occupied the opening batsman’s slot and thus Ashwin moved to the role of a spin bowler. During those days, the cricket academy at St Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School helped him immensely in honing his bowling skills.

In December 2006, Ashwin made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu and subsequently, he became the captain of the team. A remarkable 5-wicket haul in the Ranji trophy eventually made his way to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.

Later, following the ban of CSK for two seasons, Ashwin was bought by Rising Pune Supergiant. At the IPL 2018 player auction, Ashwin was bought by Kings XI Punjab and later he was appointed as the captain of the franchise. 

On June 5th, 2010, Ashwin made his ODI debut for India by playing against Sri Lanka. A week later, the cricketer played his debut T20I match against Zimbabwe. The following year, on 6th November, Ashwin made his test cricket debut by playing against West Indies.

Ashwin was part of the Indian team that won the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The cricketer also emerged to be the leading wicket-taker and was declared the player of the tournament at the 2010 Champions League.

Their other coveted achievements by Ashwin include being the highest-ranked Test bowler for India on the ICC Player Rankings. Also, in Test cricket, Ashwin has won nine Man of the Series awards and which is the highest ever by an Indian cricketer.

R Ashwin Source Of Income

Reportedly, Ashwin’s net worth stands at $16 million. Apart from the income earned from cricket, the cricketer also makes money through brand endorsements. Some of the leading brands endorsed by Ashwin include Myntra,  Oppo, Bombay Shaving Company, Aristocrat bags, Manna Foods, Moov, Specsmakers, and Ramraj Linen Shirts.

Lesser Known Facts About R Ashwin

• Ashwin’s wife Prithi once recollected in an interview that the cricketer used to be a brat during their school days. He was extremely naughty and always used to be pulled up for something or the other. Prithi says that she couldn’t stand Ashwin when they were studying in 8th standard.

• Whenever Ashwin is in Chennai, he takes his dogs for a walk at night at 10 pm. The cricketer says that he is not much bothered about what people think about him and if he is not able to enjoy what he loves doing, then it is pointless to have this life. 

• At one point in time, archaeology used to be a career option for Ashwin. However, that choice was shot down by elders citing a lack of monetary incentives.

• Whenever a new movie was released, Ashwin and his father used to watch it. They both used to be regulars at Chennai’s Sathyam Cinema and Ashwin says that he just cannot stop going to that moviehouse.

• When Ashwin was playing the Under-17 selection match, his father stood at the boundary line and captured his son’s first boundary on the camera. The cricketer says that till the time he was in the crease, his superstitious father stood on one leg.

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