“Happy Birthday, love”- R Ashwin’s wife Prithi Narayanan pens down special message ahead of IND vs AUS 2022

The Indian ace spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, is celebrating his 36th birthday today.

On the special occasion, his wife, Prithi Narayanan, shared a special message and a beautiful picture on social media where he could be seen embracing his children.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote:

“Goodbyes are never easy. Happy birthday, love @rashwin99 Hope you have a wonderful day flying across the country while we enjoy some cake on your behalf.”

Teammate Suryakumar Yadav replied with heartwarming emojis to the post.

The spin maestro has been named in the upcoming white-ball series against Australia, South Africa and the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

He was part of the recently concluded Asia Cup, where he scalped a couple of wickets in as many matches. He had earlier picked up three wickets in as many games in the West Indies.

The all-rounder could come in handy with the bat in the absence of the injured R Jadeja and provide stability to the Men in Blue in the ICC tournament. The veteran has so far played 56 T20Is and scalped 66 wickets at a brilliant economy rate of 6.81.

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"I was surprised actually with his [Ashwin] selection" - Sanjay Manjrekar on India's squad for the T20 World Cup

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar was surprised by the all-rounder's place in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia next month.

Speaking to Sports18’s Sports Over the Top, he said:

"I was surprised actually with his selection. I don't think fielding is crucial in T20 cricket. I know a couple of brilliant catches can change the tide of the game, but if somebody has got brilliant skills in batting and bowling, then maybe fielding can be ignored."

He added:

"I will just say that I didn't expect Ashwin to be part of the squad, but it's happened."

Ashwin will next be in action during the T20I series against Australia. Rohit Sharma and Co. will play their opening T20I against Aaron Finch and Co. in Mohali on Tuesday (September 20).

India Squad for Australia T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohd. Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar and Jasprit Bumrah.

Ind vs Aus T20Is schedule

September 20 - 1st T20I vs Australia (Mohali)

September 23 - 2nd T20I vs Australia (Nagpur)

September 25 - 3rd T20I vs Australia (Hyderabad)