Kapil Dev sent a small hand-written note congratulating me for crossing him: Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that former captain and all-rounder Kapil Dev had sent a small hand-written note and bouquet for surpassing his tally of 434 Test wickets. On Sunday, Ashwin went past Kapil Dev's 434 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket. While Kapil Dev managed the feat in 131 Tests, Ashwin reached the mark in his 85th Test. "Very sweet of Kapil (Dev) paaji. He has actually sent a bouquet home. He has also sent a small hand-written note congratulating me for crossing him. Sometimes people do forget that people like Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh; those who have done incredible things in the past are one the reasons why I am sitting here today," said Ashwin in a video posted by the BCCI on Wednesday.

Talking about his feelings in surpassing Kapil Dev, Ashwin went on to narrate the tale of him seeing the legendary all-rounder achieve the mark as a child. "If I call this a dream, I would be lying. For me, getting this number of wickets was never even a part of my bucket list. I had put up a post on Instagram yesterday. Way back in 1994, I clearly remember I was sitting with my dad. My dad used to have a cane chair where I would sit and watch the game. We were watching and he was so keen." "There were neighbours around and the neighbours had gathered to watch the game and I had no idea what they were looking forward to. I then realised that my father was cheering Kapil Dev on to go past Sir Richard Hadlee. I asked him the significance of it and he told me that Kapil Dev would go on to be the world's highest wicket-taker."

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Ravichandra