“Test cricket is parallel to life” – Ravichandran Ashwin reveals special bond with head coach Rahul Dravid

India’s veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared details of Rahul Dravid’s speech after the hosts won the fifth Test match against England at Dharamsala by an innings and 64 runs. Dravid hailed the team’s effort to bounce back in the series after losing the opening Test at Hyderabad by 28 runs.

Ashwin said Test cricket has a lot of similarities with life and that’s what makes the red-ball version special. The off-spinner said Test cricket has its crests and troughs, like life has its ups and downs.

Ashwin said on his YouTube Channel, “Talking about Rahul Bhai’s speech at Dharamasala, if you ask me if Vijay Sethupathy is the hero of Vikram Vedha, or is Madhavan the hero of Vikram Vedha? I won’t know the answer. Sethu Na acted brilliantly in the movie, and Madhavan was no less. I was always trying to profess that Test cricket is parallel to life. Our lives’s ups and downs are symbolised. A miniature of this is Test cricket. Even this series has shown it. But Rahul Dravid also mentioned it in his speech.”

The off-spinner revealed that he shares a great bonhomie with head coach Rahul Dravid and can share everything with him without hesitating like he is his old brother.

“I’ve played with Rahul Bhai, the player, right from my initial days on the Indian national team. But with him as a coach, I have a special attachment. I can tell him anything and everything; he’ll never mistake me. Even if he’s in the wrong, we’ve built such a relationship. But at the same time, there’s this respect that I have for him. I am a single son of the family. But when I talk to Rahul Bhai, I have this little fear that comes from a lot of respect and a license to talk about anything with him, much like our own big brothers.”

Ashwin went on to reveal that he used to play underarm cricket on the streets of Chennai until 2014, and it was very special for him.

“I don’t know how to express it. I have written something recently. It’ll come in some time. I’ve written about the Ramakrishnapuram Underarm Cricket Association. He (Dravid) addressed that in his speech. It is very special to me. It is something that we used to play on the streets, and we made posters to stick around the area with all the details mentioned: 4 per team, a 50 rupee entry fee, and many more. We used to play for years. I got an IPL contract in 2008, but we used to play until 2014 on the streets.”

Ashwin ended as the leading wicket-taker of the series against England, bagging a total of 26 wickets in five Test matches at an average of 24.81.