"Like surprising a small child" - Ravichandran Ashwin on Rohit Sharma planning a guard of honor for his 100th Test

Ravichandran Ashwin became the 14th Indian player to feature in 100 Tests. He achieved the milestone during the side's Dharamsala Test against England in the recently concluded five-match series.

The veteran spinner recently spoke about how skipper Rohit Sharma and the other team members gave him a guard of honor at the start of the match. Sharing details of his conversation with Sharma before the iconic moment, Ashwin said in his latest YouTube video:

"Rohit’s guard of honour. He came to me and said, 'Don’t get excited and go off in the first. We have planned something for you.'. Then he told me to take a walk around the dressing room and come, like surprising a small child. They had arranged a guard of honour, and I walked through that. It was a very interesting moment. All the boys standing there recognized and valued the moment."

Ashwin admitted to being overwhelmed by the immense love he received from teammates and fans in his 100th Test. Speaking about his feelings during the match, he said:

"I had requested a little backing up if I had a shortfall in terms of emotional balance or game intensity. But the affection and love like this, I’m not able to put into words. Starting 2-3 days before the match itself, whatever happened on the morning of match day, everything was overwhelming. I wasn’t able to gauge my mental space. Even though I didn’t have much emotional attachment to the 100th Test concept."

Ravichandran Ashwin shone with the ball in his landmark Test, picking up nine wickets, including a stunning five-wicket haul in the second innings. India won the match by an innings and 64 runs, completing a 4-1 series victory over England.

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"I had a small disappointment when he couldn’t come" - Ravichandran Ashwin on not being able to receive award from his father in his 100th Test

Ravichandran Ashwin went through an emotional rollercoaster during the England Test series. During the Rajkot Test, he did not take the field on Day 3 and traveled to Chennai to meet his mother, who had collapsed after a headache.

He disclosed that he wanted his father to be present at the venue on the opening day of his 100th Test. He mentioned that, due to his mother's health, his father had to stay with her and couldn't travel to Dharamsala.

Ashwin added:

"I told my uncle to travel with him (father). I actually hadn’t told him that I wanted to get the award from him. I know it would be a big moment in his life. Even he had spoken, as part of the tribute video the team made, about how this was a big moment in his life."

"I had a small disappointment when he couldn’t come in at the last minute. But I understood his perspective. If he came and fell sick or if my mom had some issues back home, then that would have disturbed me, and he didn’t want that. Even now, he asks me to bring every award or ball to him."

Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker in the Test series between India and England, finishing with 26 scalps across 10 innings.