R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, MARCH 18
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) on Saturday honoured India’s ace spinner and the ICC No 1 ranked Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin for playing 100 Tests and bagging 500 wickets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here.
A Night of Prestige: TNCA is proud to facilitate the Ashwin’s impeccable achievement for the national team!
#Tnca#TncaCricket pic.twitter.com/hgPHuFcN7i
— TNCA (@TNCACricket) March 16, 2024
- The TNCA presents an exclusive event Blazer, a beautifully crafted Mace, arranges for release of a special occasion Stamp, a symbolic 500 embedded with 500 gold coins, a silver memento
- To be selected (for India) itself is difficult. Then you have to take wickets, overcome obstacles in your journey and move on: Former BCCI and TNCA president N Srinivasan
- Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, K S Viswanathan, Ravi Shastri, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik and W V Raman had sent special appreciation messages for Ashwin
Scenes from the last night!
#Tnca#TncaCricket pic.twitter.com/Dg4KlIyRJx
— TNCA (@TNCACricket) March 17, 2024
The TNCA presented an exclusive event Blazer, a beautifully crafted Mace, arranged for release of a special occasion Stamp, a symbolic 500 embedded with 500 gold coins, a silver memento on completing 100 test matches. The icing on the cake was the presentation of a cheque for Rupees One Crore by TNCA in recognition and appreciation of Ashwin’s achievements.
About last night
@TNCACricket @prithinarayanan pic.twitter.com/8mikFAivAh
— Ashwin
(@ashwinravi99) March 17, 2024
Ashwin’s father Ravichandran, his wife Prithi and his daughters were present at the Chepauk to watch him being honoured.
Dr. P. Ashok Sigamani, President, TNCA presided over the function and welcomed the gathering.
Former India player and BCCI president Roger Binny praised Ashwin, saying that the 37-year-old was not far behind the great spinners India had produced and insisted that the Chennai-based player had the same skill sets as the former greats.
“It is a great pleasure to be here this evening to honour such a wonderful achievement (Ashwin’s feat). Ashwin has brought great laurels not only to the TNCA but for the country. He has kept the art of spin bowling alive. I congratulate Ashwin and his family for the fantastic achievement. We hope that you stay fit, stay healthy and do well,” said Binny.
Former BCCI and TNCA president N Srinivasan lauded Ashwin for his dedication and hard work. “To be selected (for India) itself is difficult. Then you have to take wickets, overcome obstacles in your journey and move on. Thus taking 500 wickets is a remarkable achievement. Plus he can bat too (has Test centuries). Ashwin is a fine exponent of off spin bowling.”
Former India cricketer, captain and chief selector K Srikkanth insisted that the ace offie had made Tamil Nadu cricket proud with his achievement. Another former India captain Anil Kumble spoke about the common threads he has with Ashwin.
A special AV on Ashwins journey was played during the event and a special message video was also played. Stalwarts as Sunil Gavaskar, Rahul Dravid, K S Viswanathan, Ravi Shastri, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik and W V Raman had sent special appreciation messages for Ashwin.
Ravichandran Ashwin delivered an emotional acceptance speech recalling his early days and association with TNCA. He recalled with gratitude all those people who helped during his formative days and still continue to do, especially N Srinivasan.
K S Viswanathan, Former Secretary, TNCA was also present at the event.
T J Srinivasraj, Honorary Treasurer, TNCA proposed the vote of thanks.
