Former Team India bowler Laxman Sivaramakrishnan accused the Rohit Sharma-led side’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin of mistreating him in a widely shared social media post that broke the internet.
On Wednesday, Ravichandran Ashwin joined an illustrious list of Indian cricketers who have appeared in 100 Test matches for the country.
The fifth Test against England in Dharamsala is Ravichandran Ashwin’s 100th game in red-ball cricket and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan called him to congratulate him for accomplishing the monumental feat.
However, instead of responding to his calls, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan claimed that Ravichandran Ashwin was ignoring him and cutting his phone calls.
“Tried calling him a few times to wish him for his 100th Test. Just cut off my call. Sent him a message, no reply. That’s the respect we former cricketers get,” Laxman Sivaramakrishnan wrote on X.
When a Twitter user pointed out that he had insulted Ravichandran Ashwin in the past, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan put out a clarification.
“This is a technical observation and not criticism, disrespect. This was with good intention. You people think offering suggestions is an insult or crime. God save you. I have been connected with 43 years of cricket experience. So I do have some knowledge of the game,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin made history in the previous Test against the Ben Stokes-led team in Ranchi.
With Rohit Sharma’s men trailing by 46 runs in the first essay, the Indian bowlers were under tremendous pressure to deliver the goods, especially on a turning track.
Under these circumstances, Ravichandran Ashwin stepped up a gear as he grabbed five crucial English wickets, including the all-important scalp of Joe Root.
During the course of his splendid performance against England at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association Stadium in Ranchi, Ravichandran Ashwin scripted multiple records.
The Tamil Nadu-born tweaker is now the highest wicket-taker for India in Tests at home, having surpassed the legendary Anil Kumble’s tally. While Anil Kumble took 350 wickets in home Test matches, Ravichandran Ashwin now has 354 wickets in India. Only Muthiah Muralidaran (493), James Anderson (434), and Stuart Broad (398) have more wickets than the Indian off-spinner in red-ball cricket at home.
It is worth highlighting that it was Ravichandran Ashwin’s 35th five-fors in Test cricket, the most for India, alongside former skipper Anil Kumble.
Only three other bowlers in the five-day format have grabbed for more five-wicket hauls, with Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran topping the list with 67 five-fors. Muthiah Muralidaran is followed by Shane Warne (37) and Richard Hadlee (36).
Also, it was his 27th five-for in Tests at home, the second-highest by any bowler in the whites. He went past Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath, who has 26. Herath’s Sri Lankan teammate Muthiah Muralidaran occupies the top spot with 45 five-wicket hauls.
The 37-year-old spinner has taken 16 five-fors while opening the bowling for India in Test matches. Overall, he has collected 170 wickets in Test matches when has opened the bowling for India. These 170 wickets have come at an average of 19.09 in just 51 innings.
Ravichandran Ashwin now has 91 wickets against England, the most against any opposition by an Indian bowler. Before him, Harbhajan Singh was the highest wicket-taker against Australia. He has 86 wickets in 14 Test matches.
At 37 years and 159 days, Ravichandran Ashwin is the second-oldest Indian to pick up a five-for in Test cricket. Vinoo Mankad is the oldest Indian to claim a five-wicket haul. He took five wickets against Pakistan in 1955.
Besides, Ranchi is the 19th Test venue where Ravichandran Ashwin has grabbed a five-for in India. Only three cricketers have picked up five-wicket hauls at more Test grounds than Ravichandran Ashwin. Muthiah Muralidaran is on top of the ladder with five-wicket hauls at 25 venues, while Shane Warne and Wasim Akram follow him with five-fors at 20 stadiums each.
Australian legend Ricky Ponting described Ravichandran Ashwin as the master of spin.
“He’s a master of spin in any conditions. He’s been an incredible cricketer, no doubt about it,” Ricky Ponting told the ICC.
“I had a chance to coach him for a couple of years at Delhi, and loved working with him. He’s got a lot of theories and philosophies on the game, which I really like. He’s always done things a little bit differently and done things his own way. But he just continued to evolve as a bowler,” he added.
“That’s the thing that I loved about him when I was coaching him, he’d stand at the end of his mark and he’d be working on something different, a little tweak to his action or a change of grip or a different delivery. He’s never been one that was going to die wondering about trying to find ways to get better,” the former Australian World Cup-winning skipper emphasized.
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It's not just a lack of spending or money that keeps the Pittsburgh Pirates at the bottom of the Major League Baseball standings every year. It's also the fact that they are poorly run. Especially when it comes to player development throughout their own farm system. One of their newest prospects, catcher Rafael Flores, who was just acquired before the trade deadline in the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees, unintentionally gave an example as to one of the flaws with the Pirates. As Flores explained to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, the Yankees' minor league focus is almost entirely on individual player development, while the Pirates — in his early view — seem more focused on team success at the minor league level. He also explained that the Yankees give their catchers every piece of information and data that they possibly can, while the Pirates only give their catchers the information that they specifically ask for. Those are two very eye-opening comparisons, and the first one is by far the most problematic and shows a very serious flaw with the Pirates' approach. The major league team should never, under any circumstances, care about the team success of a minor league team. Those teams do not exist to win games or win championships. They exist as an avenue to teach players how to play professional baseball, develop their skills and get them ready to be contributors for the major league team. Everything else is secondary. Now, Flores has only been in the Pirates system for two weeks. It is possible his initial perception is not the entire reality. But it's still an eye-opening comparison for a player to make when coming over from a completely different — and far more successful — organization. It would also track with a lot of the recent Pirates issues in developing players. They have been awful at developing position players, especially under general manager Ben Cherington, and tend to be slow to promote players through the system. (Paul Skenes was a rare exception to both issues.) It would also make sense that they want their minor league teams to do well. It makes it easy to sell hope to a frustrated fan base. If the major league team is not winning, it is easy for the Pirates to point out the success of their farm teams and say, "see, they are doing well ... there is help on the way" even if it is entirely misleading. The Pirates do have two of the best prospects in baseball in infielder Konnor Griffin and starting pitcher Bubba Chandler, but neither is currently in the major leagues. It remains to be seen if they will develop them into top-tier major leaguers. Recent history suggests the odds are not in their favor. Especially if the team is more concerned about its minor league teams winning games over individual players developing.
The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a joint practice at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday ahead of the two team's second preseason game on Saturday. The game this weekend won't feature a ton of starters from either side, so the scrimmage was the best opportunity to see what the matchup looked like with both team's starters on the field. Unfortunately, local media was not allowed to report much from the practice session, but it did come out that Pittsburgh struggled on defense, and a little brawl broke out between the two sides at one point. Practices ahead of the season always get heated, and while the Steelers were in Latrobe, the team had its fair share of inter-squad brawls. However, things especially get chippy during joint practices. This has been seen around the NFL going on every week, and most of them have some fireworks. That was the case on Thursday for Pittsburgh, as punter Cam Johnston picked a fight with Tampa Bay during a special teams period. A lot of the special teamers for Pittsburgh got in on the action during practice, as Johnston, Christian Kuntz, and Corliss Waitman all got involved in the brawl. It has been said that Johnston was not happy with how close a defender was to hitting his plant leg on a punt, which is not something you want to see, let alone during a practice period. It is definitely understandable why Johnston would have the reaction that he did during practice on Thursday. It is the same exact scenario that ended his 2024 season during the first game of the year. A blocker was rushed back into him while he was punting, and he suffered major damage to his knee that he has spent the last year rehabbing. He does not want an instance like that happening again, especially not during practice. Johnston finds himself in the middle of a position battle with Waitman, who happens to be the player that was able to pull him out of the fight during practice. Both punters will likely have starting jobs somewhere during the 2025 season, with Johnston being the favorite to stay in Pittsburgh. Waitman filled in nicely in 2024, and he has made a name for himself within punting circles in the league. The organization might look to trade one of the punters, which would probably end up being Waitman due to his lower salary. Steelers Seemed To Struggle In Joint Practice With Buccaneers As mentioned, reporting during practice was not allowed on Thursday, but it seems like Pittsburgh struggled when going up against Tampa Bay, especially in the two-minute drill. The defense had issues dealing with the talented wide receiver room of the Buccaneers, and the offense struggled to get anything going outside of a dominant seven shots period. Things are going to need to improve mightily before the regular season begins at the start of September, because after just one joint practice, this team seems like it might be more of the same of what has been seen in years past. Pittsburgh went all-in on winning during the 2025 offseason as it made significant upgrades on both sides of the football. Those upgrades don't seem to be paying off quite yet, but there is still a ton of time for that to change as the organization prepares for its second preseason game of 2025.
The Los Angeles Lakers have done all they can to build the best possible team without giving up any of their assets, including their draft capital. More news: Lakers Hiring Former Mavericks Award-Winning Coach The Lakers lost one player to the Houston Rockets, Dorian Finney-Smith, at the start of free agency, but have gained three players, two of whom were off the buyout market. Los Angeles has been methodical in their approach as they prepare for the summers ahead, specfically the summer of 2027. While that is the case, the Lakers were expected to make a big move this offseason. That hasn't and will likely not happen. There were a ton of pieces out there that could have made sense for the Lakers, including a potential trade with one of their rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have pieces that the Lakers could benefit from, including center Robert Williams III. A trade for Williams is not out of the question; however, a trade also involving Matisse Thybulle to go along with Williams may not be an option. According to The Athletic's Dan Woike, a trade for LA centering Williams and Thybulle is not likely. "I have a hard time believing a team that’s so close to the first apron that it can’t currently sign a free agent would gamble on not one, but two guys that have no track record of availability." More news: New Lakers Signing Recalls Moment He First Defended Kobe Bryant in NBA The chances of that happening, according to Woike, are not high. However, those two are the types of players who could make the Lakers legitimate title contenders. The Lakers have had Williams on their radar for what seems like forever. The 27-year-old center is an injury-riddled player, but he is just the type of player the Lakers need. Williams is a defensive-minded player who can protect the rim better than anybody in the league. He was limited to 20 games this past season and has failed to play more than 61 games in his seven-year career. Thybulle falls under the same category, at least that was the case last season. The 28-year-old was limited to 15 games this season, but when he is on the court, he is one of the more tenacious defenders in the league. He's earned two NBA All-Defensive nods while averaging 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. The Lakers could use both Williams and Thybulle, but that seems unlikely as things stand. Latest Lakers News For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.
You can never have too many upgrades on a football roster, and the Washington Commanders are keeping their options open with a couple of free agents who could boost at a certain position. The top priority of the team is to protect the franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels, and that comes from bolstering the offensive line. Recent workouts show that the Commanders are prepared to sign the top offensive tackles available if they need to. Commanders have a mutual interest with two free agents The Commanders hosted two standout free agents that could signal how they feel about the depth at offensive tackle. They brought in veteran offensive tackles George Fant and Cam Fleming for visits, but may not be done yet. Neither player ended up signing with the Commanders, but it's been reported that the team will remain in contact with Fant and Fleming. The left side of the line has had an interesting offseason so far, and the Commanders are ready for worst-case scenarios. Laremy Tunsil was one of the biggest moves for the Commanders' offseason, but he recently had a minor injury, but nothing to be concerned about. Still, though, one injury can make the line fall apart, and they need depth at tackle. The Commanders had Nate Herbig randomly retire during training camp, which led to the team signing Lucas Niang as the corresponding move. Niang tore his ACL in the first preseason game, and he's likely out for the season. They still have some pieces they can move around, but it seems like they'd rather bring in a bigger name. Fant was with the Seattle Seahawks last season, but only played in 30 snaps. Previous to that, he logged 962 snaps at right tackle and 42 at left tackle as a starter for the Houston Texans. He's 33 years old and can provide a ton of experience with almost 5,000 career snaps on both sides of the line. The team is also keeping in contact with Cam Fleming, who has over 4,300 snaps on both sides as well. Adam Peters clearly values experience and doesn't want to just roll out somebody who hasn't proven themselves in the league to protect Daniels, and you have to respect that. Both Fant and Fleming are right at 33 years old, and they obviously wouldn't be long-term pieces, but smart moves for protecting the depth of the line. They can also move Andrew Wylie and Trent Scott over in an emergency. There's no telling if rookie Josh Conerly Jr. will start Week 1, but the team is prepared for everything possible.