Indian team celebrates R Ashwin’s birthday, smears him with cake in Chepauk

Ravichandran Ashwin, one of India’s finest off-spinners, celebrates his 38th birthday on September 17. The Indian team celebrated Ashwin’s birthday in the team’s dressing room and smeared the veteran spinner with cake all over his face. India’s wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant and wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav shared glimpses of Ashwin’s birthday celebration on their respective Instagram stories. The whole squad gathered to sing birthday wishes for Ashwin as he cut the chocolate cake. It seemed like it was Pant who initiated putting cake on Ashwin’s face as evident from his Instagram story. Ashwin and Pant have shared a great camaraderie between them, having shared the Indian team dressing room since 2018.
Wishes started pouring in from the cricketing world as former and current Indian cricketers and Ashwin’s ex-teammates like Suresh Raina, Badrinath, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, KL Rahul and many more extended their wishes to the birthday boy. Known for his sharp cricketing mind and versatile skills, Ashwin has played a pivotal role for the Indian team for more than a decade.
With over 500 Test wickets, Ashwin has not only showcased his dominance in the bowling department, but also emerged as a dependable lower-order batter. His contributions in key matches have earned him global respect and admiration, making him one of the most celebrated cricketers in the country.
Ashwin made his Test debut in November 2011 against the West Indies, and since then, he has become one of the finest off-spinners in the world. With over 700 international wickets, Ashwin holds a remarkable record in Test cricket. He became the fastest Indian bowler to take 100 Test wickets, achieving the feat in just 18 matches. Ashwin has crossed the milestone of 500 Test wickets, making him one of the top wicket-takers in the format. He became the ninth bowler to join the 500 Test club, which also featured Anil Kumble as another Indian with 619 scalps.
As Ashwin returns to international cricket after a long break for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, starting on September 19 at his home ground in Chennai, several significant records await him. He is just 22 wickets away from surpassing Anil Kumble’s record of 476 wickets taken in India. This achievement would make Ashwin the bowler with the most wickets in international cricket on Indian soil, a record Kumble has held for years.