I Have the Streets: A Kutti Cricket Story

by R. Ashwin, Sidharth Monga, Rahul Dravid (Foreword)

Ashwin is arguably the greatest match-winner for in Test cricket. The fastest man to 300 Test wickets, he was a part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup in the ODI format. In T20 cricket, he has won two IPL titles and a Champions League T20. He is a feisty offspinner and more than a handy batsman. But that’s only half the tale.
This nuanced portrait delves deep to paint a candid picture of a cricketer’s life before cricket—his struggles with health issues as a child, a middle-class family’s unwavering fight and determination to give him the resources he needed for a professional career in the sport, and the little joys of growing up in a cricket-mad gully.
How does a champion sportsman view the world? What drives him on and off the field? One of the more articulate and thoughtful cricketers, in this book, R. Ashwin tells his story with Sidharth Monga.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, India

234 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 10, 2024

Reviews

[Udit Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ashwin is bit of a cricket nerd and we all who follow Indian cricket are well aware about this. So when I saw that he has come up with this book, I was like I had to read this. Ashwin manages to take the reader back into his childhood and the gully cricketing days. I must say that while reading I was only reminiscing about my childhood cricket days. One of the most interesting aspect was Ashwin visualising the cricket match in his head even before he has played it or made it to big leagues. I remember doing this even when I never made it to any professional cricket leagues ever. The cricket enthusiast in you always sets up these scenarios in the head.

The second half of the book keeps you hooked. Partially its because I have seen this phase unfolding in front of me. Now this book provided a sneak peek into behind the scenes upto 2011 world cup win. My biggest complain is that the book ends when you want much more from it. I felt it was really a short one. I am not sure if Ashwin plans to write another one but much more could have been written. There is one common theme which connects all the readers and that is this undying fascination and awe towards this game called cricket. Its a treat to read the back stories of how these individuals are on and off the field and what all goes into their heads while playing this sport.

[Vignesh Narayanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading the book immediately after Ashwin's retirement announcement.
We understand Ashwin's nature to be so grounded and connected to the people in ways other cricketers we looked up to haven't been because Ashwin is one of us. Ashwin's childhood reads just like ours. Ashwin played cricket in the streets; his pull shot and his renowned Sodakku (carrom) ball came from gully cricket, just like us. Ashwin watches Tamil films and relates everyday life scenarios to a scene from a Tamil movie and has laughs with his gang of friends, just like us. He studied engineering (because their parents wanted him to have a backup in case his cricketing career goes down the drain), just like us. He is one of us. And because of this, his journey to me felt personal; his win was mine, and his loss felt like my loss. He will remain one of my top 5 favourite cricketers of all time.
His upbringing is just like that of any average middle-class guy from Madras. The difference is that Ashwin's parents are straight out of a GVM film. His dad and mom are ever so loving and supportive of his cricketing career.
Any other kid with so many health issues that Ashwin faced would have given up; forget cricket, they'd have a hard time just coping with their regular curriculum, but Ashwin is not any kid; his spirit of coming back and giving it all has been stemmed right from a child; you could witness that prevailing psyche right till the time he retired.
We get to know how he got into CSK and how he squeezed his way into ICT XI. It’s amusing to read about Ashwin’s first interactions with a lot of our favourites, like Rohit, Kohli, and Pujara during their U-19 times; it’s fascinating to imagine these legends as kids waiting to change the game for India. We also get to meet some of our local favourites like DK, Murali Vijay, and Lakshmipathy Balaji. The captivating thing about Ashwin is that he is always keen to learn from everyone; he is always looking forward to evolving his game, rewatching games, and coming up with a new strategy if he gets hit by a batsman. Always evolving. He loved being a coach to the underarm tournament he played with his friends in Mambalam. with his experience and success with red ball cricket, the test captaincy should have been his after Virat stepped down – since that didn’t happen; hoping BCCI rectifies this by making him the coach of ICT in a somewhat distant future.
The shortcoming, though, was that the book starts with his childhood and ends with India lifting the World Cup—just when Ashwin’s career kicked off, leaving us wanting more, the BTS of how he became a legend. Hopefully, he comes up with a second book. Cheers, Ashwin Anna. Happy retirement to you.

[Gaurav Vartak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book on a whim as after reading that it was biographical account written by Ashwin with the help of Siddharth Monga. Ashwin, as is known to a lot of cricket fans, is a bit of a cricket nerd. While he has shown the propensity of take this to some weird extremes on the cricket field, it is a much more endearing quality off the field (some of his videos on YouTube are really worth a watch). He is also someone who is mostly quite forthcoming with his view on cricket and fellow cricketers.

Sidharth Monga is a cricket writer I have enjoyed reading lately. So, I thought that it wouldn't be too bad of a read. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

While this is definitely a biographical account (a genre I do not read much), the writing and description, especially in the first half of the book, was quite evocative of my own memories of playing gully cricket with friends in my society and college. Ashwin and Monga do a good job of taking us down our own memory lanes as well.

The are places where Ashwin gets a bit too technical with the finer aspects of bowling and batting, which may not appeal to everyone, but those are brief. He ends the book with a behind-the-scenes peek at the buildup to the 2011 CWC and the actual event itself.

He has not covered his journey post the 2011 CWC. It guess we might see it in another book.

However, this book is well worth a read for cricket fans.

[Dinesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kutti stories is as interesting, snappy, quirky and enigmatic as Ashwin, the cricketer, is! At every stage of Ashwin’s career 2 things stand out - 1. His laser focus on becoming the best cricketer he can be, and 2. His confidence and unapologetic and undeviating nature of calling a spade a spade, even if it pinches people while he does it. They say most talented people in the world don’t succeed because they fail to ask or take what should be theirs, but with Ashwin - he’s rightfully taken what’s his, despite people trying to pull him down and denying him what could have been. A nice, breezy read and additional respect for someone who I already liked as a cricketer and an athlete!

[Ganesh V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed Review: https://thecommunemag.com/book-review...

[Bharadwaaj Rajan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book is like Ash’s T20 bowling. There are the inputs to a tight spell, but not enough wickets to show for

[Vineeth Nair · Rating 4 out of 5]

All that has gone into the making of Ravichandran Ashwin. His struggles, setbacks, failures, victories and life beyond 22 yards

[Kaustubh Dudhane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Worship your heroes from a distance; when you get close to them, be good enough to be one of them."



Candid. Nostalgic. Yet a tale of two halves.

Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian cricketer who has represented the national team for more than 280 international games across the three formats. He is India's biggest match winner in Tests and arguably surpassing even the great Anil Kumble. His partnership with Ravindra Jadeja has won India many many Tests over the past one decade.

I was super excited about this part one of the autobiography because of the title and the video which made Ashwin one of the most entertaining and insightful cricket YouTuber of India and even the world.

The Nostalgic Touch: Ashwin takes us on the joyful ride of his childhood memories and about the gully cricket (as the name suggests.) The stories are funny, relatable and very enjoyable. Unlike other cricketers, Ashwin is a huge fan of the game. He likes to watch and discuss cricket all the time. As a result, what we get in the first half is the beautiful account from a Madras-based fan of watching cricket in the stadium, on TV and discussing with his friends. I have loved the way Ashwin's relationship with his Appa, Thatha and Amma was shared. Everyone might have felt it earlier when he left a Test midway for a family emergency.

The Balance between the Tamil pride and others: Ashwin comes across as someone who takes great pride in the Tamil movies, language and the culture. However, he never comes across as he feels others are inferior to him. I felt his pain when he explained his ordeal during a camp in Mumbai. Yet, he takes everything in his stride and moves on. I have loved his references from the Tamil movies (which I understood a few less than I anticipated.)

Relatively less exciting second half: As soon as Ashwin enters the Indian national team, the anecdotes becomes less probably due to the sensitive nature and the celebrity statuses of some of the contemporary cricketers. There are a couple of them related to Sreesanth but rest of them aren't that great. Although the book ends with the 2011 World Cup win, somehow I didn't feel the high of the final few pages in the book.

[Prasad GR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leaving the cricket and the kutti story aside, this book deserves five stars for the sheer quality of the narrative. So beautifully written that it evokes the magic of the times and events on the page! The nostalgia for the bygone days of Madras is an added bonus.

[Abhinav Marda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashwin is a cricket nerd. Thoroughly enjoyed the anecdotes and insights from the wizard of West Mambalam.

[Mani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stuck at home, fracturing my finger from going for a catch in a local hard tennis ball tournament. The nurse who did my splint asked me, "Do you love the game?" I said of course, yes. He responded "then it's totally worth it". This game means a lot for many of us.

The love for the game, the endless street cricket references, taking a round around the streets of Mambalam, and reliving 2011. This book is pure nostalgia, made me feel a couple of decades younger. Thank you, Ash.

[Govind Sriram]

Not an autobiography. It takes a few pages to get used to the style of writing, which is a very matter of factly. Gives insights into how Ashwin has evovled as a person as well as a cricketer but not in so many words. We have to infer and understand between the lines. A solid 7/10 for the content. Could've been edited better.

[Arjit Anand · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts off really well and the writing is very visual and connecting, like we expect from Monga.. It brings a lot of Ashwin’s personality to the fore as it progresses. The nerdy rebel who refuses to accept the server status of bowlers to batters and the internal/external duels during the early days of his professional cricket.. It became little repetitive for me with the world vs Ashwin in the third quarter but ends very well with happy memories of 2011 World Cup victory.

[Anush Raman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been mad about cricket since I was 10 and at a very early age among the books I read outside of kids genre it was cricket biographies, I have started with legends who retired in late 80s and early 90s and read a lot of cricketer biogrphies - especially Indian ones. So with that background I can say with certainty that this is among one of the best easily even though this just the origins story of R Ashwin who starts as a sickly child of middle class govt job holding parents who are really committed to this dream of seeing him as cricketer. The book calls out the sacrifices and key role his parents and so many folks in cricketing circles played in his rise through age group cricket and the numerous challenges he faced in his initial days. Ashwin has retired recently as with enough done to be counted among the best ever Indian bowlers but at the same time with his YouTube channels and various interviews over a period of time there is a perception of how he operates in the mind of most fans who follow the game seriously .So it’s a credit that despite all that the book comes across a fresh read but at the same team we can understand how the cricketers we saw in his 20s and 30s got formed. The book is at one level his journey into Indian team - it stops with the WC 2011 win, but at the same time it really shines when it focuses on the love of the game itself including street cricket, how game is organized at lower levels. There is equal amount of fun bits and banter among friends and start of a love story along with larger love for the game. Enough said it’s a really good book for any cricket lover, even more fun if you are from Chennai. Only let down is that this ended too quickly, hopefully Ash/Sid Monga write a few more such books.

[Somil Agrawal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book could have been much better coming from one of India’s premier spinner. The first half of the book is meandering as it doesn’t follow any chronological order. It appears as if whatever came to Ashwin’s mind at some point, Monga put down on paper without bothering if it’s logically coherent or not for the reader.

And the book does not cover Ashwin’s biggest success story - his test match career which would be super inspirational for anyone to learn from. Having read autobiographies of Sachin, Sourav, Yuvraj etc, this appeared quite a damp squib.

[Kartikeyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe Ash has plans to write a second part but ending it right at the 2011 World Cup was just too cruel when he has much of all his best career moments right after that.

[Koushik Chetluru · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reminds me of my life writing assignment in my bachelor's 1st year

[Vinay Badri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ravichandran Ashwin has been India’s premier spinner for over a decade and has been one of those intelligent thinkers & tinkerers of the game constantly working on disrupting the game & upskilling himself in every discipline. Therefore, it was a no-brainer to pick up the book that had a fairly intriguing title as well. The book makes for a good read overall – there have been other biographies on other notable cricketers that have been super formulaic and dry but this one is like the man himself – pretty straightforward and candid but also only half the story given he details only the first half of his career to where he gets his big break in the IPL. Ashwin is notorious for seeking every advantage when playing cricket and in a way, this book seeks advantage of your wallet to showcase a small yet important and integral part of Ashwin’s story


The 1st part of the book detailing Ashwin’s childhood and the sacrifices made by his parents and grandfather are the parts I loved about the book. As someone growing up in Chennai during the same time, I related to a lot of observations that he had. The importance of street cricket with its idiosyncratic rules is something that everyone who played cricket in a cramped city environment would have gone through and in a way shapes some of the skills that you bring onto the field. The early part of the book also triggered a lot of my childhood nostalgia – the ever-present MRF Tarapore towers that one always passed, the coverage in the Hindu about the local cricketing clubs in Chennai like Mambalam Mosquites & Jolly Rovers that had quite a lot of active cricketers of the time playing in as well as the local street games that you participated in with some money at stake (50 Rs was so big at that point in time) – I will admit to devouring these sections with a small lump in my throat – especially given how much Chennai has changed and how much I have also changed.

The cricket-mad nature of Ashwin is also something I related to in the book. I remember following all kinds of random matches – be it local club games, Ranji, India or even non-India games as detailed in the Hindu with a lot of interest. Cricket used to be our lifeblood and breath and that detailing comes across wonderfully well in the book as Ashwin establishes himself as a fan of the game first and foremost. Some moments play out like dreams and fantasies – sharing a dressing room with the likes of Sachin, moments with Dhoni, and of course, winning the World Cup

The struggles that went into making Ashwin the cricketer that he is are also pretty well documented – it is not just his but also his family’s struggle. The effort that goes into building a cricketer, especially when one hails from a typical middle-class family is humungous and requires a lot of sacrifice. It is a struggle that has to be put in the context of the general risk-averse nature of the middle class that believes in the safety blanket of an assured 9-5 job. The importance of luck and fortune cannot also be overstated – all the effort, sacrifice, and talent would go to waste if there were an ill-timed injury or nepotism and connections at work or worst, due to an inability to toe the line, keep mum and not push for your place

The last one is particularly relevant for someone like Ashwin who takes candidness and forthrightness pretty seriously and is unwilling to take no for an answer without proper reason. This one does cause a lot of grief for Ashwin during the formative years of his career before he became a mainstay and no-one is spared as they go through the book. Ashwin does remember each incident and call a bunch of folks out – he is unsparing of the people who made those decisions and unapologetic about who he is and his behavior (attitude if you like).

The book walks through the initial parts of Ashwin’s career until his breakthrough in the IPL. The book stops before he makes it to the test team and that left me half-satiated given it is Ashwin the test cricketer whose journey we want to follow more than anything. In a rather uncharitable way, I found this to be a cash grab that left us only with half the story. In a way it’s in keeping with the rather calculative mind of Ashwin – I mean it is a Kutty (small) story after all and Ashwin’s full story isn’t done yet

Rating - 3.5 wickets on 5

[Akilesh Sridharan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashwin’s story begins in Ramakrishna Puram, West Mambalam. He comes from a humble middle-class family consisting of working parents and his retired military grandfather.

He is the only child of the family. Hence, the focus was always centred around his studies and extracurricular activities.

As his father was an avid tennis-ball cricketer during his time but not able to pursue his dream, he wanted his son to excel.

Ashwin was very much drawn to cricket from a very young age, playing in streets and parks and watching early-morning matches played in Australia and seeing highlights of late-night matches played in the West Indies; however, he had trouble with his body and immunity.


Later, he joined a cricket academy and professionally trained and performed as an opening batsman at school, district, and state levels until his teenage years.

His day would begin early in the morning, where his father would drop him at YMCA coaching camp and later bring his uniform and lunch packed. He will reach the school from his coaching and later be picked up by either his grandfather or father in the evening.

In the evening, he would play street cricket with his friends. These episodes are really entertaining and funny, as the stakes are always high when you play in the residential area where every neighbour, uncle, and aunt are your villain.

The other episodes involving father and son traveling to watch Test matches in Bangalore and Mumbai, bunking their office and school, respectively, are insane and crazy to know how obsessed both these people were.

When the Indian team played a Test in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram stadium, Ashwin would wait for her mother, longing to get a free corporate pass to see matches on all five days.

Slowly, his talent was recognised in both local and regional circuits, as he made his progress from the first-division league to the city team and simultaneously got selected for the state team to represent in the Ranji Trophy.

However, he had to wait for his opportunity to prove his skills. In between, he started practising bowling off-spin upon his mother’s suggestion as he went through a low.

This paved the way for Ashwin to excel as an all-rounder in any team and gave flexibility to the respective teams as he was an additional value.

Thus, he landed an IPL contract with Chennai Super Kings in 2010; in the same year, he made his international debut in T20 and ODI, followed by his Test debut against West Indies in 2011.

In between, he had to study and pass exams, a tough part, yet he came with flying colours in school and later joined the engineering course at Shiv Nadar College.

The episode involving him and Preethi (his wife), starting as his school crush and later through an accidental meeting after a few years in an event, followed by dating chapters and marriage, was a journey of its own.

The book also throws light on what kind of character Ashwin was—straightforward, fearless, and determined. This you can see in his approach to the game as well as his life.

Being a Madras boy myself and playing street cricket around the same time in another part of the city, Tambaram, this book is so close to my heart and resonates with the spirit of Madras in every way possible.

Ashwin is indeed a legend who has single-handedly won many matches for India in Home Test matches in the last decade through his spinning prowess and batting skills. It is sad he had to retire midway on a tour but happy he retired on his own terms.

This cricketing nerd and spin scientist has a lot left in him to show in the coming years.

Thanks for playing the game for the country with true spirit and pure love.

[Akhilesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hugely enjoyable run-through of the early years of Ashwin's life from the time he first started playing cricket in the streets right through the time he got selected to the age-group levels and finally the Indian cricket team. Like others have mentioned, this book stops right after he plays and wins the ICC world cup in 2011 and I imagine that he's planning to write a series of books detailing different stages of his playing career which completely makes sense.

Ashwin's early years and his cricketing journey are extremely relatable to a kid like me who grew up doing all the same things that he describes having done in this book -- playing cricket with the neighbourhood kids every evening on weekdays and all day during weekends and holidays, dreaming up match situations and being Sachin/Azhar/Kumble/Yuvi/Kaif during various years of growing up in those backyard matches, setting up a "cricket pitch" and playing test matches (:D) in the neighbourhood and in the nearby grounds and even creating our own little IPL style league among ourselves (including auctions). I also did my fair share of playing cricket INSIDE our small apartment like Ash and broke a whole lot of stuff inside and outside our house. The big difference in the case of Ash and other kids like him or me was that he went on to play hard ball cricket pretty early to supplement his backyard cricket and was supported throughout by his sport loving family. He got through some pretty gnarly health issues as a kid in pursuing his passion for cricket.

The thing that stands out about Ash is his courage to ask questions and trying new things. Talking back to officials in India is fraught with danger of retribution and not many young crickets would do that but not Ash. In terms of trying new things with his bowling, he talks about his late shift from being a top order batter to trying out off-spin and his evolution from being a containment bowler to a wicket-taking one. All of them involved trying different tactics and taking the advice of his captains at the time and trying them out in the nets.

Ash goes into much more detail about his local cricket club (RUCA) and his teammates there than his experiences and teammates in the state or national side which is understandable. There are some big events that he just brushes past with a small mention rather than more explanations. In interviews and on his youtube channel, Ash comes off as a know-it-all insufferable cricket tragic but is much more bearable in this book and I look forward to his upcoming books now that he's completely retired.

[Gitesh Maurya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to an amazing colleague, who is an even bigger cricket nerd than me, I got to read this book since I had no idea that Ashwin had penned down such a beautiful memoir.

The book is written by Ashwin and Siddharth Monga, the ESPNcricinfo Editor. And what a rewarding read this book was. I don't think anybody but Ashwin could have pulled this off. That nerdy brain of his, or in Rahul Dravid's word, "that Ashwin level thinking" makes this book the best gift for the cricket nerds like us. It is filled with tales from the dressing rooms to the pitch, behind the scenes of the matches and what, in fact how much goes into reaching the Final XI whom we love to criticize and admire.

Ashwin and Monga have done a great job in bringing Ashwin's story to life. From the streets of Chennai, to the train rides to Wankhede to fligjts across the world, the book does a great job to keep you hooked. I couldn't wait to finish it.

As a kid or even today as a young adult, I dream about meeting my favourite cricketers, and I got to feel that through this books. Ashwin's interactions with MS, his awe for Sachin felt too personal. There's a line that has stayed with me where Ashwin says "I am not here to rub shoulders with them. I am here to show that I belong here."

Although the book was getting a little repetitive at the end, because he was grinding it out in the domestic circuit, it didn't drag for long and ended with the 2011 World Cup win. The length felt perfect but I wouldn't mind getting another part dealing with his rise in Test Cricket and his tales from the land down under.

[Amartya Choudhary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thouroughly enjoyed. The beautiful thing is, it's not necessarily a cricket book, it could even be a children's book. Atleast in the first half, u could replace Ashwin and others with Swami, Rajam, Mani and I would think I am reading Malgudi Schooldays.
Starts at his childhood, ends with the 2011 World Cup. Every point we get insights into the brain of R. Ashwin, both cricketing and non-cricketing. How when he feels that he's right, he never makes a compromise with himself. Immediately one realizes why Ashwin is never shy of doing what others consider against the "spirit of the game". If he sees no logic in something, then he's not one to follow others like a sheep.
Cricket wise, what goes through his mind after a good game, what goes after a bad game, how he takes criticism, how the perception of being a bad fielder affected him, how he uses his net sessions, how his seniors taught him to plan a wicket and so much more.
All of this is neatly intertwined with his engineering, friends, then girlfriend Prithi and gully cricket - where his journey began and from where we get the name of the book as well.

[Suyash Agrawal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covers Ashwin's journey through the 2011 Work Cup victory. While written in a colloquial tone the book is entertaining. Ashwin has touched on all aspects of his life including health issues, family, etc. From the outset, international-level athletes look infallible with an indomitable spirit, however, Ashwin's book teaches that even they are human and it is not uncommon for self-doubt to creep in often. Overall their losses stack up higher than their wins but it's their determination and discipline that get them through. The book also provides insight into Ashwin's cricketing mind, showcasing why he is as exceptional an analyst as he is a match-winning player. Ashwin also shares an important learning that one shouldn't get complacent and stop learning and experimenting, no matter if they have reached the highest level. After reading the book, I came to know Ashwin not just as a match-winner for India with one of the best cricketing minds, but also as an incredible person who values his friendship even after achieving immense success.

[Kahrrthikeyaa V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be there and thereabouts
"All good, let's go"

Plus Points:
The book beautifully covers Ash's (Jersey 99) life story from his childhood till the time he cemented his way in the Indian Men's Cricket Team. The progression and pacing of the book is very good.
When reading the childhood part we journey through the different emotions and situations he faced.
Got to know many things about his mentality and the way he approach the game. The part where the book scores the bulk of the points is the way he makes us feel in his shoes to whatever the situation he is in. It is like we are wearing VR Glasses and seeing his story through his lens.

What could have been better:
Though the book covers majority of his yesteryears (Teenage and early 20's till 2011), it could have been better if his later part of life was also covered (india in australia test 2018-19, T20 World cup). What I love about ashwin is his articulation of words. That's why i am interested to know the story and behind the scenes after 2011 World cup in his perspective.

[Sriram Mangaleswaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful description about his life, how he struggled, entered and achieved as a bowler.

Ash started as a batsman as most of us knew that, but surprising part is he was dreaming to open the innings with Sachin. This is a news to me. And another fact is Ash was a medium pace bowler. So he started his career as Batting All rounder.

His transition as Spin bowler and his street cricket experiences, how it helped in international level were great to read.

Lot of Cameo appearances like Pujara, Jadeja,Kohli ,his batting rival Rohit Sharma and Finally about Dhoni was too good.

I loved the part where he says a batsman can try anything inside the net practice and bowlers were not allowed to try different things, he insists that bowlers are not bowling machines.

Overall a great read about our local hero whom reached in an international space.

[Sandeep Bhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an autobiography of R Ashwin. Starting with his childhood incidents, the book soon transitions into Madras cricket scenes of Ashwin as a batsman. Journeying through various clubs, it's quite interesting the support he got from his parents, friends and grandfather in his cricket career. A special mention to RUCA, his gully cricket gang who kept him grounded and made me nostalgic about the colony cricket gang we may have had in our childhood. Interesting snippets keep us interested throughout the book involving cricketers and their attitudes. A good amount of the book is written about Ashwin's stints with CSK and world cup winning team where he develops a good relationship with MS Dhoni. The book ends with the World Cup win, it could have gone further to cover Ashwin's role in other IPL teams, role in India's away/home test wins and the T20 world cup wins.

[Roshan Nair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashwin's book is not just a testament to the hard work and grit a player has to showcase to make it big in a cut-throat competitive country like ours, but it's also a glimpse into the cricketing brain that he is. Be it gully cricket, a Ranjhi match, an IPL match or an international game, Ashwin demonstrates through his book the genius that he is in operating the ball, the field and guessing and double guessing the batter's move to get the better of them. Among other things, the book is sure to teach you to stand up for yourself, speak your mind when necessary, and put in the hard yards if you want to achieve success. It's a must-read for those who love cricket; and a beautiful book full of lessons on character building and experiments before success for the ones who are reading the book, not just for the cricket bits.

[Pratik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ravichandran Ashwin’s I Have the Streets is a heartfelt and nostalgic memoir that takes readers back to his childhood in Madras, where street cricket shaped his dreams. Co-written with Sidharth Monga, the book beautifully captures Ashwin’s struggles, family support, and determination to overcome challenges, including health issues, on his journey to becoming a world-class cricketer.

The conversational tone and relatable anecdotes make it an engaging read, especially for cricket enthusiasts. However, at 173 pages, it feels more like a prelude to his career rather than a comprehensive autobiography. While it inspires young athletes, readers seeking insights into his Test career may find it incomplete.

[Ashwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most Indian biography or autobiography are just being look how humble I was or how great I was. Ashwin's book is refreshing take on this, it discusses how gully cricket is lifeline of Indian cricket.

Ashwin's admiration for Dhoni and Gautam is on another level, also it helps that they nurtured him and gave him chance to perform.

Playing with an injured back is not a joke, Ashwin even overcomes it.

Ashwin comes across as straight forward person,and it becomes difficult in Indian scenario when he asks questions to authority they are unwilling to discuss the issues.

The book ends abruptly after 2011 World Cup win. Hope he will write another book after sometime.

[Shivin Mathur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked I Have the Streets, and it met my expectations. Ashwin is different from most cricketers who have played for India as he doesn’t let emotions take over. He’s always thinking, always analyzing, and always in control, which really comes through in this book.

He talks about his journey in a way that feels honest and detailed, breaking down key moments in his career with the same sharpness he brings to the game. His approach to cricket, his constant drive to improve, and his unfiltered opinions make this an interesting read.

If you’re a cricket fan, especially someone who enjoys the tactical side of the game, this book is worth picking up.