I realised I’d be better off as a cricketer after attending GRE classes: Murugan Ashwin

Murugan Ashwin might have not made it into the international scene as yet. But he has looked quite impressive in whatever opportunities that he got thus far. He made headlines when he was picked by the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 after being the nets bowler for CSK for a long time. Since then, he changed a few IPL teams. Though, he has always looked his give his hundred per cent and is a street-smart cricketer.

Right from his childhood, Murugan was quite good at his academics. He is reported to have scored excess of 90 per cent in both his 10th and 12th grade. Furthermore, he got into an engineering college as well and cricket was just a hobby for the most part of his academic career.

Why did Murugan Ashwin incline towards cricket?

Even though he was well off with his academics, it was GRE that made Murugan Ashwin change his decision of studying abroad. When he enrolled for the classes during his third year, he realised that this wasn’t for him. That is when he realised that he is much better off being a cricketer.

“In the third year of college, I had enrolled for GRE exams at that time; and that’s when I decided that an academic career was not for me. I’d be better off as a cricketer,” he said as quoted by the Kings XI Punjab website. Apart from this, it was also good performances in a few first division league games that further impacted his decision.

“I used to feature in various age categories at the state level; and when I was in the third year of college I did really well in a few first division league games which were held in Chennai,” he said. “I could, therefore, see myself playing in the Ranji Trophy and moving up the ladder. That was one thing that prompted me to take up cricket.”

Murugan Ashwin also informed that he was good in academics and added that he could grasp things easily. He said he had eight hours back then to balance cricket and studies. Interest in both of them eased things for him.

“I was actually good in academics,” he added. “My basics were good and I could grasp things easily. I never attended a lot of lectures and after playing cricket I used to go to a friend’s place to study what had what I had missed. I had eight hours to balance both, but I had a genuine interest in them so I could balance things well,” he affirms.