5 cricketers who became captain of their cricketing idols

4. Ravichandran Ashwin – Dinesh Karthik

In every era, some cricketers etch their names in the history books with their record-breaking feats. One such fine example is India’s Ravichandran Ashwin who has been leading the spin-department of the country in the last few years. Right from his debut in 2010, Ashwin has been captivating the cricketing fraternity with his well-versed craft. Recently the office also ended up as the most successful bowler of the last decade with more than 550 wickets across formats.

Unknown to many the Tamil Nadu cricketer was an opening batsman for his state team in his early teens. At the time he was keen on following the footsteps of his idol, Dinesh Karthik. Yes, you heard it right Ashwin looked up to Karthik who was then an emerging star of the country. Due to his graceful batting and keeping skills, he got his India cap at the age of just 19. Unfortunately, Karthik couldn’t cash in his opportunities and the arrival of MS Dhoni minimized his playing chances.

In the meantime, Ashwin climbed the ladder with his impressive bowling spells in the domestic circuit and earned his India cap. In stark contrast to his Karthik, the off-spinner quickly established himself in the national team. Thereafter he also captained Tamil Nadu in some games of 2015-16 Vijay Hazare Trophy. At the time his cricketing hero, Karthik played under him. So it has been an interesting journey for him from cheering Karthik from the stands to captaining him.