Ever since India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement from international cricket, fans and fraternity has left no stone unturned to celebrate his illustrious career. With 765 wickets and 6 Test centuries to his name, Ashwin decided to call it a day, making the announcement at the post-match press conference after the Brisbane Test earlier this week. Now, former India batter Mohammad Kaif hailed Ashwin’s cricketing acumen while revealing an unheard tale.

Kaif recalled the time when Ashwin refused to bowl to Australia batter Steve Smith during a Delhi Capitals net session. Since Smith was wearing a camera on his helmet, Ashwin told Kaif that he didn’t want the Australian to record him and analyse his bowling ahead of the T20 World Cup.

“Steve Smith was in our team, and one day when he came to the nets to bat, I asked Ashwin to bowl to him, but the off-spinner denied. That’s when I was impressed with his in-depth analysis of the game, and I request you to name him an ‘in-depth’ Ashwin. Ashwin said, ‘I won’t bowl to Smith because he has got a camera on his helmet. He will record us and analyse it for the World Cup.’ I couldn’t notice the camera on Smith’s helmet, but Ashwin did. He was ready to help Smith as a teammate but not for the World Cup,” Kaif said in a video posted on X.

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— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) December 21, 2024

Yeah, I think Sunny (Sunil Gavaskar) described him really well–a very smart cricketer. And you know, he’s a cricketer who just stays on task, always working out a cunning plan. He’s got great belief in his own ability. He’s quite polarizing in many ways when it comes to the cricketing public, and even to his own team – he’s a very strong-minded person. But I personally want to wish Ashwin a wonderful retirement,” he added.

Ashwin will continue to play in the Indian Premier League, having been signed by Chennai Super Kings for Rs 9.75 crore at the mega auction last month.