Washington Sundar, blamed for taking R Ashwin's spot, gave 'best' 2-minute speech on India legend's retirement night
Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar shared a sweet moment on social media following a message in the wake of the senior bowler's retirement.
The commemorations for Ravichandran Ashwin’s storied international career have been coming in thick and fast following the announcement of retirement for one of India’s greatest-ever spinners, not least from the players he shared the pitch and dressing room with during his 14-year spell in the national team setup.
Washington Sundar, in many ways Ashwin's protege, was one such, penning a grateful message for his Tamil Nadu and India teammate and mentor. In a post shared on social media, Sundar congratulated Ashwin and received a heartfelt response from the senior spinner, which showcases the bond between master and apprentice.
Ashwin replied to Sundar’s thank you note on social media platform X, writing “Thupakkiya pudinga washiii! The 2 minutes you spoke that night in the get together was the best.”
‘Thupakkiya pudinga’ is a famous dialogue from and a reference to the 2024 Tamil film The Greatest of All Time, in which the main character played by actor Vijay says this line to Sivakarthikeyan’s character, which translates to ‘Hold the gun.’
In a straightforward message and a vote of confidence in a player India will be seeing as the player likely to step into Ashwin’s shoes, the spin-bowling all-rounder makes it clear that Washington has his full support and backing in taking up that demanding role, and to become the next ‘gun’ spinner for the Indian national team following Ashwin’s step back during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Big boots to fill for Sundar
The bond between the two spinners is clear to see with several messages such as this, with Sundar himself writing in his message: “More than just a teammate — Ash anna, you have been an inspiration, a mentor, and a true champion of the game.”
Ashwin retired after 765 wickets for India across formats, as well as many memorable innings with the bat, particularly in Test cricket where he has scored six international centuries. In his brief career, Sundar has shown a similar resilience with the bat and the potential to be a long-term successor for Ashwin at just 25 years old, and couldn’t ask for a better bowler to have behind him for guidance and support as he hones his craft in that department.
India will return to action at the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne on 26th December against Australia, with Sundar in line to be one of the all-rounders as the team looks for a big result.
