Bengaluru: Be it Virat Kholi or Cheteswar Pujara, these cricketers are highly influenced by their fathers. But in the case of Ravichandran Ashwin, his mother Chitra was the main source of his motivation.
In an interview with OneIndia News, Ashwin’s father Ravichandran recalled how he used to take his son to different places for training and for participating in matches.
Ravichandran said, “It was his mother Chitra who actually did the coaching right from his childhood!”
He added, “I had to note down our son's performance in each and every match from his childhood. Even, I used to note Ashwin’s batting and bowling performance at the nets also. I had written the comments of his coach after everyday training. The reason was that his mother used to watch my notes and then start advising her son."
Ashwin was earlier a pacer and on the advice of his mother turned in a spinner, which has not just benefited him, but the country as well.
Ashwin’s father also recounts, “One day his mother told him that his long run-up did not look good at all. And it was waste of energy. Chitra asked her son to begin spin bowling instead of pace. And from that day Aswin began to concentrate on spin bowling."
Ashwin’s mother would also make notes of his performance even when he had settled in club and state level cricket.
The pacer turned spinner took every word of his mother seriously even when she stressed on him to not ignore his batting quality. Today, Ashwin is not just India’s strike bowler but also a run-scoring machine.
