R. Ashwin is set to be capped for a 50th time in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle from July 26. His numbers, since making his debut against the West Indies in 2011, are second to none: a whopping 275 wickets from 49 Tests. He spoke to The Hindu about his journey. Excerpts.
How tough is it to be a right-arm finger-spinner these days?
I feel [that] the heart to take a pounding, come back strongly and want to be the centrepiece in the game of chess is of utmost importance. That’s what has had me in good stead. I have never been shy of taking a battering. I have always had the guts to be in a ‘go for a wicket or six’ situation all the time.
How have you evolved over nearly six years of Test cricket?
I have evolved as a cricketer massively. I have never seen myself as a particular species in the context of the game; I have only seen myself as a cricketer who can get better. I have evolved as a human being and learnt a lot…about people skills, the game itself, how people perceive one another, and how much I need to live up to somebody’s perception of me to become successful.
One reason I put my footsteps into this game as a bowler and have viewed things differently is to make this massive change in people’s perceptions because any outstanding champion team will be built on very strong bowler-foundations and bowler-cultures.
Forty-nine Tests …275 wickets… are you satisfied?
My satisfaction stems from how much I torment the batsmen, how much I hold them on a tight leash, how much control I exercise in the context of that match. I have always been on knife’s edge.
I prefer living on a knife’s edge, but it’s been too much. I know my numbers and that’s because I am thorough and prepared. But all this doesn’t mean I have a fetish for numbers. I have probably missed the love for the game somewhere down the line. I think I can enjoy the game a whole lot better than what I have over the last few years.
Have you had full freedom from M.S. Dhoni and Virat Kohli to bowl according to your ideas?
With respect to both Dhoni and Virat, I would give it to them for having trusted me and given me full freedom. They have not controlled things. Both understand that I have things under control and don’t come under-prepared for a match.
Since you started playing Test cricket, you have been second to none…
Despite all the flak that I receive, I think I have been pretty good. It’s been one heck of a ride, and I don’t think it’s going to be fair on anyone for me to say that I need to replicate it in the next 49 Tests matches. Maybe I can better it. One will never know because international cricket can wear you out, it leaves scars which alter the way you react in a particular game, in a particular situation.
Before the ICC Champions Trophy, you said you are going to try out a few variations…leg-spin… in the warm-up games and take it forward…
I tried a couple of leg-spinners against South Africa. I wanted to be the difference in the tournament. But all of a sudden I was not playing, because the team wanted to play a combination of four seamers and a spinner. It was hard on me because I am trying something new, trying to be, so to speak, a revolutionary…nobody bowls both the balls. For it to happen, there needs to be a sense of continuity…in terms of positioning me and when to bowl…I need to make a few mistakes along the way.
All of a sudden I played the high-pressure game, one of the most high-pressure games in my life…we lost against Sri Lanka… and I bowled a couple of those balls against Sri Lanka. Then we played Pakistan, we were up against a wall; they were going hammer and tongs. I wanted to give ten runs fewer that day, not ten runs more.
The change of head coaches …Anil Kumble to Ravi Shastri…what do you make of the circumstances?
I will just put it like this. The existing situation as such is between three people: captain, coach and probably the administration. Obviously the leadership decides who comes in and who goes out. Unless and until, as Virat said, we are asked, we don’t comment. I don’t even figure anywhere in this and to be able to comment on that is definitely out of bounds.
I do not have an opinion, but [from] whatever I have worked with both Ravi and Anil…and I am not being diplomatic here, both have different strengths.
Ravi bhai is positive all the time; he’s exuberant and infuses so much energy into you, and Anil is very methodical…produces a lot of different dimensions that [a] bowler can ask for. I love the conversations with Anil and that’s because of the fact that we share a similar kind of skill and trade.
The one thing that I learned in the exciting journey of cricket is that nothing or no one is constant. Things keep changing, and if you want to stay at that level you have to keep moving on.