India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin experienced a ‘fanboy’ moment, as he posted a picture on Instagram with Indian chess legend Viswanathan Anand. From the post, it appeared that Ashwin and Anand had been on a flight together. India’s first chess grandmaster, Anand is a five-time World Chess Champion. The duo hail from the same state, Tamil Nadu, but Anand is 16 years older than Ashwin. In July, Ashwin had stepped into the world of chess, becoming the co-owner of the franchise American Gambits in the Global Chess League 2024.
“A fanboy moment and a flight journey to savour forever with the legendary Vishwanathan Anand,” is how Ashwin captioned his Instagram post.
Anand became India’s first-ever chess grandmaster in 1988, paving the way for the sport in the country. At his prime, Anand was the No. 1-ranked chess player in the world, a position he held for 21 months straight.
In 2024, India made history by winning the nation’s first-ever gold medals at the Chess Olympiad 2024, in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Meanwhile, Ashwin has established himself as one of the greatest bowlers of his generation, particularly in Test cricket. Ashwin is currently only 83 wickets behind Anil Kumble among Indian cricketers with the most Test wickets, and could well surpass him before he retires.
R Ashwin’s reaction to India’s 0-3 loss vs New Zealand
Ashwin was a part of the India squad that humiliatingly lost 0-3 to New Zealand in the recently-concluded home Test series. It brought an end to a 12-year streak of India being unbeaten in a home Test series.
“I don’t know how to react or react to it. I know that in my career and in my experience in cricket, we don’t have so many emotions when we play. But it’s a very shattering experience. That’s the right word for it. I didn’t know how to react or respond to it for the last 2-3 days,” said Ashwin while speaking on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin is set to feature for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, starting from November 22.