Ravichandran Ashwin recently revealed that Team India head coach Rahul Dravid had a long discussion with a bartender in the West Indies over the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow during the second Ashes 2023 Test. According to the veteran spinner, while chatting with a bartender and a waiter, Dravid and the locals argued whether Bairstow was given out correctly. Their discussions included topics such as the laws of the game and the spirit of cricket. During their conversation, a spirited elderly man intervened, saying, “He Bairstow Maan, he out Maan!”
Thoughts on Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal? ,#Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/x5Uv3Qg3Kc— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) 2 July 2023
Significantly, the dismissal of Bairstow in the Lord’s Test against Australia has left the cricket community divided. Alex Carey stumped the right-handed batsman as soon as he came out of his crease after dodging a short ball from Cameron Green. Ashwin also mentioned another incident that happened in the West Indies ahead of the upcoming two-match Test series against India’s Maroons team.
He shared, “We all went out for dinner. Me, Dilip sir, Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathod, all of us. While passing by a restaurant, an elderly man came up to us in his typical Caribbean accent and asked, ‘Would you like a drink, man?’ Soon after, he recognized each of us and said excitedly, ‘I know you. You look like anybody. You look like a cricketer. You are Ashwin. You are Rahul Dravid.’
The first match of the Test series between India and West Indies will begin on Wednesday, July 12, at Windsor Park in Roseau.
Ashwin emphasized that he has been touring the West Indies for 14 years and observed that the Caribbean island has remained unchanged throughout that time. Reflecting on his experiences in the West Indies, the 36-year-old commented, “It’s a completely different experience to how we got here in the Caribbean island of Dominica. I’ve been coming here for the last 14 years, and in that time, Nothing has really changed. If anything, they’re really teaching us life in reverse gear.”
Significantly, the senior spinner has played four Tests in the West Indies, in which he has taken 17 wickets at an impressive average of 23.17. Besides this, he has also scored two Test hundreds during his stint in the West Indies.
