Recently, Ravichandran Ashwin silenced a journalist after he attempted to overstate the greatness of the legendary India batter Virat Kohli. Before the five-Test series against England, the journalist Boria Majumdar called Kohli the “brand ambassador of Test cricket.” It is worth highlighting that neither Ashwin nor Kohli will appear in the series because the two have recently announced their retirement as Test cricketers. Although Kohli will still play ODIs, Ashwin had bowed out of all formats during the Australian tour in the middle of the tour.
In a chat with Majumdar, Ashwin offered his opinion about the legacy of Test cricket. This is in reaction to what Majumdar said concerning the significance of Kohli to the format. The all-around great legend stated that “Cricket is way higher than anybody that’s played the game or will play the game. I think we don’t need people to be above the game at all. Nobody who walks in the park is somebody who does good for the game. The game does good by them or bad by them at a certain stage.”
Ravichandran Ashwin’s Perspective on Cricket’s Greatness
The remarks made by Ashwin show how he views the greatness of the game and how it is more than just about individual players. He also wants to underline that any cricket value is in the way of its history, traditions, and spirit, not in the player. Such an opinion proves the multi-layered and deep nature of the game, which may be valued and enjoyed by individuals with different backgrounds and levels of experiential abilities.
Virat Kohli, who played during his time, often talked about how much he liked to play cricket on the Test format. The great Indian batsman affirmed his retirement of all Test matches last month after representing India in 123 Test matches, scoring more than 9000 runs with an average of 46.85. Kohli has added golden pages in Indian cricket which will be remembered by generation after generation.
The discussion is about the concern of individual players in the bigger picture of the game brought about by the remarks made by Ashwin. Whereas some might say that there is hype as well as publicity that Kohli has raised and there is a kind of fuss in the sport, some might agree that what makes the sport so appealing to people is the value of the sport itself. The discussion shows how complicated the game is and how different the viewpoints of the parties concerned may be.
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