‘Even if you were jealous…’: Ravichandran Ashwin speaks on alleged rift with Harbhajan Singh

The speculation stems from the play astir 2015 erstwhile Harbhajan stepped distant from Test cricket aft a 103-match-long vocation with 417 wickets

Ashwin said to Harbhajan, "This full jealousy bit. Before I let you to reply that, fto maine clarify something. People look astatine everything from their perspective." ANI Photo

Former Indian cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin person yet spoken connected the alleged rift betwixt them, with the precocious retired Ashwin saying that adjacent if the Indian rotation large was so "jealous" of his occurrence astatine 1 point, it was "justified and human."

The speculation stems from the play astir 2015 erstwhile Harbhajan stepped distant from Test cricket aft a 103-match-long vocation with 417 wickets. His exit coincided with Ashwin's emergence arsenic India’s frontline spinner and a genuine rotation bowling all-rounder. Over the years, reports astir a rift betwixt these 2 bowling greats ran rampant connected societal media, with immoderate of Harbhajan's comments connected Ashwin often taken arsenic jabs towards his successor.

Speaking successful a teaser of play 3 of “Kutti Stories with Ash” connected Ashwin's Instagram, Ashwin said to Harbhajan, "This full jealousy bit. Before I let you to reply that, fto maine clarify something. People look astatine everything from their perspective. For example, if they are passing a remark connected me, they judge others presumption the satellite done their eyes. This remark that you are jealous of this idiosyncratic who is interviewing you today--what would that beryllium about?"

To this, Harbhajan asked if Ashwin himself believed helium was jealous. Ashwin replied, "Even if you were jealous astatine 1 point, it is justified. That is my point. I would ne'er instrumentality it the incorrect mode due to the fact that we are each human. Naturally, it is bound to beryllium similar that."

On his status from planetary cricket, which came during the mediate of a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy successful Australia, Ashwin dismissed that helium was retiring due to the fact that 25-year-old Washington Sundar was dilatory making a lawsuit for a regular spot successful the squad with accordant performances pursuing his instrumentality to the Test broadside past twelvemonth during the location season.

"Some radical judge I retired due to the fact that of Washington Sundar. He is successful the heavy of things now. All of this is the position of others," helium concluded.

In 106 tests for India, the all-rounder took 537 wickets astatine an mean of 24.00, with champion figures of 7/59. He claimed 37 five-wicket hauls and 8 ten-wicket lucifer hauls successful his Test career. He is the eighth-highest wicket-taker successful Tests wide and the second-highest for India, down Anil Kumble (619 wickets). Ashwin besides holds the grounds for the second-most five-wicket hauls successful Tests, trailing lone Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (67).

With the bat, Ashwin scored 3,503 Test runs astatine an mean of 25.75, including six centuries and 14 fifties successful 151 innings, with a highest people of 124.

In 116 ODIs, helium picked up 156 wickets astatine an mean of 33.20, with champion figures of 4/25, and scored 707 runs astatine an mean of 16.44, including 1 50 and a sound of 65 successful 63 innings. He is the 13th-highest wicket-taker for India successful the format. In 65 T20Is, helium claimed 72 wickets and scored 184 runs successful 19 innings.

Across each formats, the 38-year-old tallied 765 wickets successful 287 matches, making him India's second-highest wicket-taker aft Kumble (953 wickets).

Ashwin was besides a cardinal subordinate of the Indian teams that won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy.