In a recent revelation by former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif, a fascinating incident involving Ravichandran Ashwin and Steve Smith came to light. Kaif shared a story from their time at Delhi Capitals when Ashwin refused to bowl to Smith during a net session. The reason behind this surprising decision was Smith wearing a camera on his helmet, which Ashwin believed could be used to analyze his bowling ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“Steve Smith was in our team, and one day when he came to the nets to bat, I asked Ashwin to bowl to him, but the off-spinner denied. That’s when I was impressed with his in-depth analysis of the game, and I request you to name him an ‘in-depth’ Ashwin. Ashwin said, ‘I won’t bowl to Smith because he has got a camera on his helmet. He will record us and analyse it for the World Cup.’ I couldn’t notice the camera on Smith’s helmet, but Ashwin did. He was ready to help Smith as a teammate but not for the World Cup,” Kaif recounted in a video shared on X.
Reflecting on Ashwin’s retirement from international Cricket, Kaif praised the off-spinner’s cricketing acumen and described him as a smart cricketer who always stays on task and works out cunning plans. “Yeah, I think Sunny (Sunil Gavaskar) described him really well–a very smart cricketer. And you know, he’s a cricketer who just stays on task, always working out a cunning plan. He’s got great belief in his own ability. He’s quite polarizing in many ways when it comes to the cricketing public, and even to his own team – he’s a very strong-minded person. But I personally want to wish Ashwin a wonderful retirement,” Kaif added.
While Ashwin has bid farewell to international cricket, he will continue to grace the field in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being snapped up by Chennai Super Kings for a whopping Rs 9.75 crore at the mega auction held last month. As fans reminisce about Ashwin’s decorated career, this amusing anecdote shared by Kaif adds another layer to the enigmatic personality of the off-spinner.
