Ashwin high on series Down Under
R. Ashwin would not have featured in the first Test against Australia at Adelaide if Ravindra Jadeja had been available. Ashwin himself knew that. And that’s why it felt like starting all over again for the off-spinner who has been constantly put under the microscope despite proving his worth time and again.
Apart from taking 12 wickets — he dismissed big fish Steve Smith thrice — in three Tests, Ashwin scored a gritty unbeaten 39 to save the Sydney Test. In a chat on Sunday, Ashwin spoke about the importance of his Sydney knock and how he has been subjected to unfair comparisons with other spinners. Excerpts:
Is this the best that you have bowled in Australia?
Looking back, you can say that but I think this is just another dimension of cricket that I’m seeing myself in. It didn’t look like I was going to start the series in all honesty but Jadeja damaged his hamstring and that is how I got an opportunity in the first Test. Yes, 2018-19 was good, but I think 2020-21 was one of the best if you compare the last three years.
Before each Test,
I
sat
and watched match videos for eight hours on the bounce. I made my own plans about where the fielders should be. For example, how Tim Paine got out in Melbourne came from what happened in Adelaide with the short-leg fielder and where the ball might go. So these are orchestrated moves and thanks to the freedom the team management gave me in how I should be working it.
On his back injury: It (back injury) was looking good for the fourth Test in Brisbane and looked like I would play. But there was some unfortunate turn of events. Even the swimming pool access was cut. The pool is an important activity in the recovery process. Then we had to do a plunge pool activity but it is not the same. The physio also felt if the recovery process was in place, there was a good chance I could play. It was a freakish injury. By day three or four, I was alright to bowl. After that 1-1 draw, things took a U-turn. The way things happened in Sydney and Brisbane, we had to quarantine. Sometimes it was questionable. There was insensitivity around people commenting on why we were complaining. The rules were not such.
On the
importance
of
his
Sydney knock: There have been questions raised over my batting since that West Indies tour. But another thing that needs to go into consideration is I was an allformat player and sometimes the roles of people playing Test cricket alone don’t really sit down well or people don’t quite make an effort to understand how it works. I feel ever since that particular thing where I’ve just been playing Test cricket, it’s pretty much a one game here or there and I’m constantly fighting with someone else for the lone spinner spot. And if I have to be judged purely on my batting skills and batting averages, then I think a decision based on an innings or two alone to drop me out of a particular series wasn’t quite justified. I am looking to fight for my place and when I’m doing that I need to emphasise on my primary skill which is to pick up wickets, which I think over the last two years in South Africa, England or Australia, I have done justice to.
Despite being on the international stage for more than a decade, why do you feel that you have to prove yourself in every game?
I have had some wonderful interactions with batting coach Vikram Rathour (a former selector) throughout this series. He told me that they were looking to leave me out after the England series in 2011-12. He said, ‘We didn’t quite think that you were bowling well’. But I made close to 400 runs in that series and picked up 14-15 wickets. It’s a battle that I have always fought. It’s not new territory for me.
Whenever I was pitted against another off-spinner, the series has turned out well for me. From 2013 to 2015, I was competing with Harbhajan who had made a comeback. In 2015-16, it was Jayant Yadav. For me, competition has always got the best out of me. I feel whatever I have left ahead of me will also be along these lines. So I have decided to play every Test like it’s my first.
If I can’t be just move on.
excellent,
I should
On comparisons with Nathan Lyon and the duel with Smith:
There has been a lot of noise about how I am bowling, and constant references to someone like Nathan Lyon. During the previous tour in Adelaide, I picked up six wickets and kept on bowling despite a tear in the abdomen. After the match, there were comparisons between us. I felt it was extremely insensitive after a good performance. That was the lowest I ever felt in my life. I feel I have been constantly put under the microscope. I did take it personally. So rather than me competing against Lyon, I thought I must be competing against Smith.
Lyon is a lovely bowler and I have respect for him. But my focus was on something else. There were records that Smith had never got out to spinners in Australia. I wanted to turn that around. I am entitled to think I am, probably, the best in the world. I wanted to think along those lines. I thought ‘who is the best in the series?’ I can’t compete with Virat Kohli so I decided to compete against Smith. A lot of people were talking about who will dismiss Smith. But, nobody even gave me a chance. Then, I made sure that people spoke about me at the end of the series.
Now, there will with
Sundar...
Honestly, I have always said it is irrelevant who walks alongside me into the ground. When I walk into the next Test, I will be looking at Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root. Why would I worry about someone who is going to stand beside me because for all you know I’m walking with a guy who is going to help me over the next five days and he has to do his job and I have to do mine. These are insignificant things.
be comparisons Washington
Is there a tinge of disappointment that you were not considered for the vice-captaincy role when Rahane took over from Kohli?
I am not disappointed and it’s irrelevant to me. I go out there and make my own plans and get the fields that I want. The captains and vice-captains that I have played with have been very supportive of whatever I have wanted. Leadership is just leading yourself and keeping your space upbeat for any situation that arises. If you can help another teammate, that’s also leadership, so it really doesn’t matter.