Virat Kohli receives high, candid praise for his personality from R Ashwin

Indian cricketer R Ashwin emerged into the international circuit after he debuted for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL 2009. Ashwin only got two games for CSK in IPL 2009 but was given more chances in 2010. R Ashwin paved his way into the Indian courtesy his stunning IPL performances. The off-spinner has been India's leading spinner for the major part of the last decade.

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Virat Kohli can have interesting conversations all the time: R Ashwin

R Ashwin, was in an interaction on 100 Hours 100 Stars, which is an initiative started by the Fever Network recently. R Ashwin said that every time he gets a five-wicket haul, he keeps the match ball as a souvenir. He added that every time he creates an impactful performance, he takes a stump home as a souvenir. R Ashwin further said that he has played 71 Tests and collected some 60 souvenirs.

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R Ashwin was asked about the teammates he spent most of his time with. R Ashwin replied by picking Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Virat Kohli as the ones he spent most of his time with. R Ashwin said that Cheteshwar Pujara for sure and also picked Shikhar Dhawan saying that he is a lot of fun. R Ashwin also named former head coach of strength and conditioning for the Indian team, Shankar Basu in his list. He further took the name of Virat Kohli saying that the Indian skipper can have interesting conversations all the time.

The Kohli claim is an interesting one as media reports over the last few years had hinted of a friction between the duo, which seems to have risen out of Ashwin being dropped from Kohli in the Test team as part of India's 'horses-for-courses' strategy on overseas tours. The fact that Ashwin became virtually a Test specialist after the 2017 Champions Trophy final loss to Pakistan also added fuel to the rumours. However, this claim has poured water on them.

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R Ashwin opens up on learning sportsmanship spirit from counterpart Harbhajan Singh

R Ashwin narrated an anecdote about Harbhajan Singh from the 2001 Chennai Test against Australia where he was present as a spectator. He added that Harbhajan Singh left a deep impression on him about the spirit of sportsmanship. R Ashwin said that Harbhajan Singh had dropped Matthew Hayden's catch off Sairaj Bahutule's bowling. He added that however, Harbhajan was thankful when Bahutule took Colin Miller catch off his bowling in the third Test match at Chepauk.

R Ashwin further said that he saw Harbhajan going to Bahutule and apologising for dropping Hayden earlier and added that his father pointed out the sportsman's spirit between the two players. R Ashwin also said how his father told him about how the players get along with the game and focus on the next ball, which left a deep impact on him.

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IMAGE COURTESY: BCCI