Harsha Bhogle has one word for Ashwin's passion for the game

India's ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin found his way back for good into the Test side after a spectacular series against South Africa, spearheading the spin department along with Ravindra Jadeja and Shahbaz Nadeem. Prior to his call-up to the national side for the tour of West Indies, Ashwin was going all out at the domestic cricket, getting some valuable first-class cricket experience while also going on to captain the Tamil Nadu Premier League side Dindigul Dragons. Ashwin's passion for the game is unfathomable and the cricketer himself as admitted to having been quite put off about not being able to represent the country. Ravichandran Ashwin recently became the joint-fastest to 350 test wickets along with Muttiah Muralitharan. He achieved the feat in his 66th test match. Ashwin (356) is India’s 4th highest wicket-taker in tests, with only Harbhajan Singh (417), Kapil Dev (434) and Anil Kumble (619) ahead of him in the list.

As soon as the Proteas series concluded, two Indian cricketers dashed to make it back to the semi-finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. A fan had spotted Mayank Agarwal and Ashwin in a que at the airport, which was later confirmed that both the players were en route to join their respective teams for the Vijay Hazare Trophy finals. The 'Voice of Indian cricket' Harsha Bhogle had only one word for Ashwin's passion for the game. 

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Harsha Bhogle has just one word for Ashwin & Mayank

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Ravichandran Ashwin set to play Vijay Hazare Trophy for TN

The off-spinner who picked up 15 wickets in the 3-match test series vs South Africa, will play for his state Tamil Nadu. Ashwin shared the news on his personal Twitter account. Tamil Nadu will face Gujarat in the second semi-final in Bengaluru. Tamil Nadu have been unbeaten in the Elite Group C of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019. Baba Aparajith, Abhinav Mukund and Captain Dinesh Karthik have led the charge from the front with Tamil Nadu winning all the 9 games they’ve played this season. Ravichandran Ashwin’s addition to the squad would be an added bonus against a Gujarat side who would look to avenge the only defeat they have suffered this season. Tamil Nadu advanced to the semi-finals after their quarter-final clash with Punjab was washed out due to rain. Gujarat, on the other hand, breezed past Delhi in their quarter-final.

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Mayank Agarwal to feature for Karnataka

Mayank Agarwal will also feature for Karnataka in their semi-final vs Chhattisgarh. Mayank finished the India vs South Africa series with 340 runs, including a maiden double hundred. Karnataka have been in fine form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, notching up 7 wins in their 8 games. Manish Pandey and Devdutt Padikkal have both scored over 500 runs in the tournament, and Karnataka would have Mayank replicate his form from the Freedom series. Chhatisgarh advanced to the semi-finals after their game against Mumbai got washed out. Karnataka, meanwhile, impressively brushed past Puducherry to reach the semis.

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