On a delightful spin with Ashwin

This is the age of sequels and trilogies in Indian cinema. R Ashwin, whose Tamil identity is inseparable from larger-than-life movies, takes a leaf out of that book. Well, the off-spinner hasn’t announced the sequel yet, but the fact that his short but engaging memoir, I Have the Streets-A Kutti Cricket Story, ends with India’s 2011 World Cup victory, of which he was part of, makes it quite obvious that there would be a more detailed account of his unfinished story. After all, the more compelling part of Ashwin’s story — Test career —  begins after he makes his debut in the longer format for India in November 2011 against West Indies in the two-Test series, which was also the farewell series for Sachin Tendulkar.

In that sense, I Have the Streets, co-authored by senior cricket writer Sidharth Monga, serves as a delightful teaser. The prologue sets the tone for the book in true South Indian filmy style, concluding with the statement, “My name is R Ashwin. Welcome to my world.” 

Ashwin indeed lets you into his most intimate world. There’s the poignant father-son relationship, beautifully told through instances of gully cricket that you can instantly connect with. His little love story (which begins in school) with Priti, who he goes on to marry, is adorable. His working mother, who plays her own little but crucial part in his career, and his doting grandfather, who takes you on a nostalgic trip, go a long way toward making this a feel-good story.    

Ashwin, however, emphasises his father’s role and you sense why. 

Overzealous but hardly overbearing, Ravichandran’s character is often conflicted as he wants to push the young Ashwin hard, but the physical limitations of his son, who is battling a few health issues, also convulse him in guilt. But there’s no denying the influence, especially in Ashwin’s belief in how the game should be played. And if you are wondering why Ashwin has little time for batters who back up at the non-striker’s end before the ball is delivered, “blame” it on his father who even encouraged him to “Mankad” a batter during a club game in Chennai! While there’s a vivid account of his father’s active role, it’s because of his mother’s suggestion, in a rather admonishing way, that he took to off-spinning! Ashwin wants to be a batter and a fast bowler but an injury forces him to suspend pace bowling. During one of her visits to his practice, his mother notices Ashwin spending most of his time on the field doing little else. So she asks him to experiment with leg spin if he can’t bowl fast. His father, with obvious knowledge of the craft, discourages wrist spin because of its difficulty to master. Then his mother casually remarks, “Is it? Okay, bowl off-spin then.” 

India’s most prolific off-spinner ever thus became so in this most innocuous fashion. But it’s still just an idea because Ashwin is conflicted between becoming a batter and a bowler then. Ideally, he would prefer to be an all-rounder but selectors at the junior level have a minds of their own. They are not in the spotlight and, therefore, less accountable as well.

Ashwin faces a lot of rejection and humiliation; sometimes he isn’t considered as a batter, other times as an off-spinner and oftentimes he is rejected for his fielding. Through all this emerges the greatest cricketer from Tamil Nadu which, given its cricketing legacy, should have produced more international cricketers of repute than it actually has. It’s a reality Ashwin, only the second Indian bowler to have claimed 500-plus Test wickets after leg-spinning great Anil Kumble, doesn’t flinch away from addressing. “It seems to me that we romanticise the game more and play less,” he writes, while pointing out the absence of a steady representation of TN players in the national team since Kris Srikkanth or their inability to add a third Ranji Trophy since they won the second in 1987-88.

There are hilarious nuggets, especially the one involving M S Dhoni and S Sreesanth, his frustrating yet funny encounters with the Hindi-speaking cricketers and coaches, and accounts of those who helped him develop as an off-spinner, some with honest intentions and others unwittingly. His conversations about spin bowling with the then TN coach W V Raman are particularly engaging even as he acknowledges the former India batter’s role in straightening his run-up from an angular one and making it more effective. 

Self-deprecating, funny and honest, I Have the Streets is a delightful narration of Ashwin’s cricketing journey, which peaks on the night of April 2, 2011, in Mumbai.

But this is only the appetiser. The main course, hopefully, will be more sumptuous.