Ravichandran Ashwin, a veteran Indian off-spinner, has acknowledged that movies strongly influence his perception of life’s philosophy. He used a passage from a Rajinikanth film to show how he overcame uncertainties in his life.
Ravichandran Ashwin has already won many hearts with his prowess by playing the 100th Test in the ongoing match against England in Dharamsala. He has joined the elite club of only XIV players of India who belonged to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gawaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble rightfully.
In a special video for bcci.tv commemorating his historic Test, titled ‘Life, Cricket & Beyond ft. Ashwin’, the off-spinner discussed how films have affected his mental process.
“Lot of my takes in life, and sport and in general, come from movies. In one movie, Rajini [Rajinikanth] actually goes on to say this dialogue – when you know the death date, your living time becomes hell [English translation of dialogue]. We all know that we have a marked death date, but we all live very happily. We all live the moment, we all want to express ourselves because we all believe we are immortal for a very long time.”
“The moment you know there is a finite nature to it, you start defending that finite nature. You don’t start living that finite space. And I found that very deep. When you understand it and are able to put thought to it, it kind of pushes the bar even more. And that’s how I shed massive insecurities in my life.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin added:
“It’s like this – you find a small bird, you nurture it, provide for it and then, eventually when it’s ready to fly, you cage it,” the 37-year-old went on to elaborate.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ashwin made his debut against West Indies in 2011 and has established himself as one of the legends in red-ball cricket.
“Big achievement for any player to play 100 Tests” – Rohit Sharma on Ravichandran Ashwin
Rohit Sharma praised Ashwin for being a rare player. They have played together since under-17 and under-19 levels.
“Big achievement for any player to play 100 Tests. He has been a match winner for us. What he has done for us, no praise is enough. His performances over the last five-seven years, every series he has contributed. It is rare to have players like him.”
Rohit Sharma
Before his 100th Test, Ashwin had 507 scalps at an average of 23.91, including 35 five-fers and eight 10-wicket match hauls.