New Delhi: With his existing YouTube channel already boasting 1.54 million subscribers and 729 videos, ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has announced his new Hindi channel called ‘Ash Ki Baat’ on the same platform.
In doing so, the cricketer is expanding outside of the primary Tamil content and will be able to connect with a much wider audience, who will be eagerly awaiting to hear about his cricket journey, anecdotes, and stories.
Known as one of the most astute cricketing minds, Ashwin is known for his frank and conversational interactions with his guests, be it current or past players, in his videos for his existing channel, ‘Ashwin’.
His current channel can easily be compared with any other similar channels, if not better, run by past and present cricketers. It has sections like videos, shorts, live, podcasts, playlists, and posts for cricket aficionados. Some of his popular videos have racked in more than 1 million views, while the oldest of the videos are from four years ago.
The Indian cricketer announced the launch of his all-Hindi YouTube channel in a recent Instagram reel, alongside journalist Vimal Kumar. “I’ve tried to read Hindi and watch Hindi films to improve my Hindi,” he said, sharing with his audience that he’s been working on his Hindi skills.
It is another fact that the spinner is quite fluent in Hindi and can strike a decent conversation with his audience as seen in previous videos.
The new channel is expected to offer additional insights into the 38-year-old’s life and cricketing expertise. Viewers can expect Ashwin’s distinctive “Madrasi flavour” infused with Hindi, providing an engaging platform for cricket enthusiasts and fans.
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Though the format is yet to be known, Ashwin fans can expect him to carry out his sessions in his usual engaging ways, be it in the form of live interactions, question and answer episodes, or collaborations.
The announcement couldn’t have come at a better time for the senior cricketer. Ashwin played an important role in the test match against the visiting Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.
Not only did he post a century on the first day of the Test that came at a time when India was tottering at 144/6 in the first innings, the off-spinner scalped the wickets of six Bangladesh batsmen to ensure a resounding win for India in his home turf.
Ashwin, who stitched a record 199-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, scored 113 runs in just 133 deliveries. His attacking innings, combined with Jadeja’s solid support, helped India recover from a precarious position and take a significant first-innings lead.
Ashwin’s all-round abilities were on full display as he took another five-wicket haul, his 37th in Tests, equalling Australian legend Shane Warne’s record and coming only second to Sri Lankan wizard Muttiah Muralitharan in the second innings of the match.
Wicketless in the first innings, Ashwin took full use of the weary Chennai Day 4 track, one that he’s well aware of to finish with the figures of 6-88 as India beat Bangladesh convincingly by 280 runs.
“No, not really. Everytime I play in Chennai in front of this crowd. It is a great feeling for me. I have watched a lot of Test cricket, international cricket sitting in those stands. To perform in front of those renovated stands is a great feeling to be honest. It was an opportunity to dig deep and fight it out. I’ve seen so many team-mates do it in the past. Was a special innings, didn’t sink in till Day 2,” Ashwin said, reflecting on his experience in the post match interview.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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