R Ashwin expresses gratitude to PM after receiving Padma Shri
What's the story
Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was awarded the coveted Padma Shri award on the eve of India's 76th Republic Day.
Notably, the Padma awards are one of the highest civilian honors in India and are conferred in three categories- Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan.
They are awarded in different fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine and literature.
Here's more.
Career highlights
Ashwin's illustrious cricket career
Ashwin, a vital cog in India's 2011 ICC ODI World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy-winning squads, retired from international cricket after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia.
Meanwhile, during his career, he appeared in 106 Tests and amassed 537 scalps.
Additionally, his ODI and T20I careers feature 116 ODIs (156 wickets) and 65 T20Is (additional 72 wickets) respectively.
Record breaker
Ashwin's remarkable achievements in Test cricket
Ashwin is the eighth-highest wicket-taker in Tests overall and the second-highest for India, after Anil Kumble (619 wickets).
Notably, he also holds the record for the second-most five-wicket hauls in Tests (37), after Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (67).
Across all formats, Ashwin took 765 wickets in 287 matches, making him India's second-highest wicket-taker after Anil Kumble (953 wickets).
Post-award
Ashwin's gratitude and future plans
After receiving the Padma Shri award, Ashwin thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his X account, who congratulated all the Padma award winners.
"Thank you so much, sir. Heartfelt gratitude," Ashwin posted.
Although he has retired from international cricket, he will continue to play in club cricket and will reunite with Chennai Super Kings for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Fellow awardees
Other sports personalities honored with Padma Shri
Along with Ashwin, other sports personalities were also awarded the Padma Shri award. They include legendary Indian footballer IM Vijayan, Paralympic gold-medalist archer Harvinder Singh, and para-athletics coach Satyapal Singh.
Satyapal has played a key role in mentoring Khel Ratna awardee and Paris Paralympics gold-winning high-jumper Praveen Kumar.
Notably, this year's Padma awards list features a total of 139 recipients across various fields of expertise.
Twitter Post
Ashwin's twitter post expressing his gratitude
Thank you so much sir.
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 25, 2025
Heartfelt gratitude 🙏🙏 https://t.co/75LfGM1Vsy