"Talking cricket with this champ"- Ravichandran Ashwin catches up with Marnus Labuschagne ahead of 3rd India vs Australia ODI in Chennai

Ravichandran Ashwin and Marnus Labuschagne met each other in Chennai ahead of the third ODI between India and Australia in the city. The 3-match series is evenly poised at 1-1 going into the decider in Chennai. Ashwin is not part of the Indian ODI squad, while Labuschagne has played both games so far.

The duo engaged in a fierce battle in the 4-match Test series before the ODI matches. Marnus Labuschagne scored 244 runs across four games on his first Test tour of India. The ace Indian off-spinner was in his usual element as he scalped 25 wickets to the top wicket charts. However, Ashwin dismissed Labuschagne only once during the series.

The Chennai-born off-spinner took to his official Instagram handle to give fans a glimpse of his meet-up with Labuschagne by sharing a picture. He captioned the post:

Talking cricket with this champ🤩😂 @marnus3 . Great chat and good luck for the game tomorrow buddy 👍🏻.

"We need to understand and accept that there will always be someone better than us"- Ravichandran Ashwin on comparisons between players

Ashwin recently opened up about the debates centering around comparisons between players. From a philosophical perspective, he reckoned that individuals tend to think they are the best during their prime years and when better rises through the ranks and overshadows them, it hurts their ego.

Speaking on the topic in his YouTube video, Ashwin said:

"We keep thinking that we are the best. And then suddenly, someone from the next generation comes along and says, 'Can you just wait for some time? Let me just show you how this is done.' So we need to understand and accept that there will always be someone better than us. Only then we can adjust to today's reality and lead a happy life. Only then can we stop using the statement, 'In those days when we played..'

He added:

"In those days, this bowler used to keep bowling in the same areas. I won't name the bowler. If he takes the ball, he will keep bowling in the same spot forever. Even I am doing the same thing. Even the next-generation cricketer will do the same thing. As I said, the realization of someone better than us will always prevail should hit us. Todd Murphy is one example that I saw."