R Ashwin looking forward to watching Spain in action; Pragyan Ojha wants a ‘Ronaldo-Messi final’

Mumbai, November 15

India spinner and member of Rohit Sharma’s squad in the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, Ravichandran Ashwin, is looking forward to watching some engrossing football action when the FIFA World Cup gets under way in Qatar on November 20, with the 36-year-old saying he is a big fan of the Spanish side.

Ashwin, who is not a member of the squad which will play a six-match white-ball series against New Zealand beginning in Wellington on November 18, added that he enjoys watching French player Kylian Mbappe in action.

“I have always been a fan of Spain. Not sure how they are going to do this year. But yes, looking forward to watching how Spain does, the other football teams have picked up the standard of play and the last World Cup was amazing,” Ashwin told Sports18 on Tuesday.

“I enjoyed watching Kylian Mbappe last time around, so I am looking forward to seeing a lot of new stars jump on to the scene. I am looking forward to FIFA World Cup Qatar, 2022,” he said.

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha said he will be flying to Qatar to watch the football action, and was eagerly looking forward to the Portugal vs Uruguay match just to see charismatic forward Cristiano Ronaldo in action.

“Yes, I am going to Qatar for the FIFA World Cup, 2022. I am going to watch Portugal vs Uruguay, the only reason behind this is Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s not like I am a big fan, but I just want to see him play live,” he said.

On his dream World Cup final, he said, “I am not too much into football but if I have to pick, it would be Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo that is Argentina vs Portugal,” added Ojha. IANS