Now Reading: Ashwin says Manjrekar criticism changed his career
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Ashwin says Manjrekar criticism changed his career
Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that Sanjay Manjrekar's early career criticism of his fitness left him angry and hurt, but became a major turning point. Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles', Ashwin said he…
The Story in Brief
Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that Sanjay Manjrekar's early career criticism of his fitness left him angry and hurt, but became a major turning point. Speaking on JioHotstar's 'Cheeky Singles', Ashwin said he stopped talking to Manjrekar after the former India batter questioned his fitness following his first Australia tour. Ashwin said he felt very bad after reading the article and let it go, but then worked hard for the next four years because he was not a gifted athlete.
Ashwin added that in 2015, Manjrekar wrote another article praising his bowling, and Ashwin messaged him saying the earlier piece changed his life. Ashwin retired as India's second-highest international wicket-taker with 765 wickets across 287 matches, including 537 in Tests, and scored six Test centuries. He continues to play franchise T20 cricket, having joined Major League Cricket after missing the Big Bash League due to injury.
The Indian Opinion
The temptation here is to turn Ashwin's story into a simple revenge-of-the-underdog fable, with Manjrekar as the villain. But Ashwin himself credits the criticism for his transformation, which shows criticism and gratitude can coexist. The real lesson is about how athletes process harsh feedback, not about who was right. Watch whether other current players, like a young batter facing an uncertain future, handle a public critique with similar grace. That will be the true test of this narrative's lasting impact.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
