I have always enjoyed my cricket, be it home or abroad.

“I have always enjoyed my cricket, be it home or abroad.” — Ravichandran Ashwin

In these simple yet profound words, Ravichandran Ashwin, master spinner and thinker of the modern game, speaks a truth that reaches beyond sport — a truth about joy, purpose, and constancy of spirit. To say, “I have always enjoyed my cricket, be it home or abroad,” is to declare that true passion does not bow before circumstance. It is to say that the heart which loves its craft finds peace in every field, whether the cheering crowd sings your name or the silence of strangers surrounds you.

Ashwin’s words reflect the wisdom of a man who has walked through triumph and trial alike. For the cricketer’s life, like life itself, is a journey through changing conditions — spinning pitches at home and foreign lands where the ball turns differently, where the air feels alien, and the crowd’s roar speaks another tongue. Yet, the one who truly loves his art carries his home within him. His bat or ball becomes a symbol of inner balance, and his joy flows not from victory alone, but from the sacred act of participation.

This is no new teaching. The ancients, too, spoke of such equanimity. The Bhagavad Gita, that eternal dialogue of the soul, teaches: “Perform your duty with devotion, without attachment to success or failure.” In the same spirit, Ashwin’s words become a modern echo of timeless philosophy — that the true warrior, or player, does not fight for applause or comfort, but for the honor of the work itself. To enjoy one’s craft “home or abroad” is to rise above fear, expectation, and judgment, and to rest in the pure rhythm of doing.

There is a story told of the great Leonardo da Vinci, who painted wherever he went — in royal halls and in dim, solitary rooms — because his art was not bound by place. His joy did not depend on recognition, for he painted to commune with the divine order of creation. So too, Ashwin’s declaration is not one of pride, but of surrender — the humble surrender to passion as a way of life. Whether the skies above him are friendly or strange, his spirit finds play.

But note also the quiet heroism in these words. To play abroad is not easy. It means facing conditions meant to undo you, voices meant to unnerve you, and expectations meant to crush you. Yet Ashwin says, “I have always enjoyed.” This is the mark of the master — to find serenity amid struggle, to transform discomfort into challenge, and challenge into growth. The man who can enjoy his labor in adversity has conquered life itself.

This quote, then, is not merely about cricket. It is about finding joy in one’s path, even when the road bends away from comfort. For life, too, sends us abroad — away from the familiar, into the unknown. And if we carry bitterness, we lose our way. But if we carry joy, we make every land our home. Ashwin reminds us that happiness is not given by place, but by presence — by the willingness to love what one does, even when the world shifts beneath one’s feet.

So let this teaching be heard by all who walk the path of purpose: Find joy in your work, whether home or abroad. Do not wait for perfect days, for friendly weather, or for approval. Instead, bring your own light to every field. For the one who finds delight in effort, who meets the world with a steady heart and grateful hands — that one will know peace wherever he stands.