The 33-year-old had added that he would spend every morning with this friend, learning the art of the carrom ball, for around 15 days.
Indian Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin bowls during the third day's play of the first Test match between India and South Africa at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on October 4, 2019. (Photo by NOAH SEELAM / AFP)
World-famous for his art of spinning the ball on both the sides, India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that a guy named SK (Karthik Sekhar) taught him the art of carrom ball. However, the latter soon responded saying that he was “humbled by the praise” the India bowler showered on him.
“Hey Ashwin, surprise! Here is the SK you have been looking for. I am humbled by the praise you showered for me. This is one of the most pleasant surprises for us. We are so proud of you. From tennis ball cricket to making India proud, you have come a long way. I wonder if my carrom ball was that good, I should have taken it more seriously. Keep making us proud,” said Sekhar in a video uploaded by Cricbuzz on Twitter.
Earlier, Ashwin in a Cricbuzz show had said, “The first time I went to play a tennis ball game, I was batting. There was this guy who was bowling with a proper action, getting beautiful drift and getting the ball to go nicely out and in. Till today I can’t find where the guy is but I haven’t seen a better bowler who can bowl both in and out than him in my life. His name is SK. He was the one from whom I learnt that ball.”
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The 33-year-old had added that he would spend every morning with this friend, learning the art of the mystery ball, for around 15 days.
“Basically he was the one who made me look like an absolute idiot on that particular day. I was a big thing around the tennis ball circuit as a batsman then, so I said I need to learn from this guy. So I used to go every morning, and he used to come and teach me for about 10-15 days,” Ashwin had said.
On #SpicyPitch‘s season opener, @ashwinravi99 revealed who he learnt the famous carrom ball from during his tennis-ball cricket days, and how he had lost contact with him. Well, we found him. Here’s SK’s special video message for the ace spinner. pic.twitter.com/n4hlvViZJd
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) February 16, 2020
Ashwin, who has picked 362 wickets in 70 Tests, is part of the India squad for the two-Test series against New Zealand which gets underway in Wellington on February 21.
(With inputs from IANS)
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