Perth: Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed his delight at being praised by legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble, who he regards as a hero.
Kumble recently remarked that he has seen a lot of himself in off-spinner Ashwin, who has impressed in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup.
And, asked about Kumble’s praise at Thursday’s press conference ahead of Friday’s match against West Indies, Ashwin said: “I started bowling spin pretty late in my career — I was more of a batsman until the under-19s. When I started bowling spin, it was all about Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and all of that.
“There have been times where I’ve really mucked around with my action and tried to be a Harbhajan Singh, tried to be an Anil Kumble, tried and bowled leg-spin in between.
“Skill-wise, there are a lot of people that you can admire all throughout your career, but I’ve always maintained that Anil Kumble is one of my big heroes for the fact that, every time he’s been put in a corner, he’s come out really successful. That is one aspect I really admire about him.
“There have been times people have asked me ‘who is your role model?’ and I have told them Anil Kumble is one of my role models. To actually hear that from him is a big honour. At the same time, his are big boots to fill. It’s not as easy as he made it sound, but I’m really pleased for it.”
