From Idol to Role Model: Ashwin on Harbhajan's impact

Following his match-winning spell and century against Bangladesh in the first Test, Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on idolising legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh during his junior-age cricket days and replicating his bowling action during matches.

Ashwin made his Test debut in 2011 and got to play some games with Harbhajan before latter's final Test in 2015.

The Indian spinning duo of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took India to a comfortable victory of 280 runs over Bangladesh in the first Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday.

Speaking on JioCinema, Ashwin said that Harbhajan was a "huge inspiration" and taking his spot was "huge shoes to fill" for him.

"It was huge shoes to fill for me. I used to replicate his action and bowl in junior-age cricket days, so he was a huge inspiration. When I came into the team replacing him, I never thought we would both coincide at the same time, but it so happened. There were constant doubts about whether I could deliver in red-ball cricket because I came through the IPL, which shaped people's perceptions. But Test cricket is a format I have adored, and I wanted to improve every single day. A lot of people helped me along the way, and I am so glad to be standing here today," he added.