Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared his fan moment on social media, posting a picture with none other than chess legend Viswanathan Anand during a flight journey.
Ashwin shared a picture on Instagram on Sunday morning with the caption, “A fan boy moment and a flight journey to savour forever with the legendary @vishy.mindmaster”.
Earlier this year, in July, Ashwin became the co-owner of the team in the Global Chess League. He co-owns the team American Gambits, which was led by world number two Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura.
Anand, who became India’s first-ever grandmaster in 1988 and went on to win five World Championship titles, had also shared a special message to welcome the ace cricketer into the chess world.
“Congratulations @ashwinravi99 on your exciting new venture into the world of chess! As someone who has bowled out the best in cricket, I’m sure you’ll bring the same competitive spirit to the Global Chess League with the American Gambits. May your rooks and bishops be as unstoppable as your off-spinners! Best of Luck in London! @GCLlive,” Anand had posted .
Besides being a smart cricketer on the field, Ashwin is also a chess enthusiast. During the 2022 IPL, he was seen occupied in a game of chess with one of his fellow teammates in the flight during Rajasthan Royals’s trip to Kolkata from Mumbai.
Last month, Ashwin became the highest wicket-taker in the history of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) during the second Test against New Zealand at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune.
He picked three wickets on Day 1 of the Test and moved to 189 wickets in 39 matches in the WTC history from 2019 to 2024, surpassing Australia’s Nathan Lyon, who had 187 wickets in 43 Tests.
Ashwin has so far taken 536 wickets in 105 matches at an average of under 24, which places him second on India’s all-time Test wicket-taking list, behind only the legendary Anil Kumble, who claimed 619 wickets.
