R Ashwin 100th Test: 'Families go through a lot during a players' journey,' spinner reflects on milestone

Ravichandran Ashwin is on the cusp of playing his 100th Test for India, and that is something that matters to him a lot. When he takes field in Dharamsala on Thursday during the fifth Test between India and England, Ashwin will become the 14th Indian cricketer to have played 100 Tests. He will join an elite list of players, including the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to have done so.

“100th Test matters a lot to me, but it matters more to my father, mother, wife and even my kids. My kids are more excited about the Test. Families go through a lot during a player’s journey. My father still answers 40 calls on what his son did during a game,” Ashwin said at a press conference in Dharamsala ahead of the fifth Test against England.

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Ashwin had recently become the first Indian, and fourth overall to achieve the double of 100 Test wickets and 1000-plus runs against England. Earlier in the Test series, he also became the second Indian and ninth overall to get to 500 Test wickets. Ashwin is relishing the "special" journey in the longest format.

“It’s a big occasion, from the look and sound of it. More than destination, journey has been special,” he said. Ashwin considers his seven-wicket haul in the Birmingham Test in 2018 as one of his finest spells. "It’s Test wins that stand tall. One of my finest spells I bowled was in Birmingham in 2018. I got 7 in the game… I thought I had bowled India to win but that didn’t happen," added the veteran.

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Ashwin said that the 2012 Test series against England at home, which the visitors won, was the "turning point" in his career. Ashwin finished fourth in the wicket-takers' list with 14 scalps but ended up conceding 737 runs. "That series vs England at home… where Cook and Pietersen scored runs. Can well be the turning point for me. There were talks of me getting dropped… it was a wonderful lesson for me to improve say 5%. I knew what I had to correct. Since then it was addressing downs," stated the 37-year-old.

India have already clinched the Test series with a game to spare, following their five-wicket win in the fourth Test in Ranchi. The fifth and the final Test begins in Dharamsala from Thursday (7 March).