R Ashwin was fittingly named Player of the Match for his all-round show in the second Test between India and England in Chennai. Ashwin picked up eight wickets in the match and scored a brilliant century on a slow and deteriorating surface to emerge the biggest architect of India's series-levelling win.
After the match, Ashwin was interviewed by none other than captain Virat Kohli, who turned interviewer and asked Ashwin reason behind the tremendous form he currently finds himself in. Ashwin has been in red-hot form since the tour of Australia, picking up important wickets with the ball and scoring crucial runs with the bat with the team in need. The way he dismissed Steve Smith in the first two Tests and had the number of Marnus Labuschagne was exceptional.
"I think the whole pandemic thing... During which we shut off and locked ourselves down, I was thinking about what is going to happen. if you take the game away from me, I am literally lost. Even if I am not playing some formats for the country, I am putting the TV on and watching," he told Kohli during an interview for the BCCI.
"And suddenly, I felt like the game was not here, so I was reflecting on things, trying to understand what I can learn from people and what they perceive of me. That perception really made sure I was playing a game that was completely different to who I was."
For the most part of his career, Ashwin was called a home soil behemoth with questions raised over his form overseas, but India's premier off-spinner has dispelled any such concerns with his inspiring show in Australia, where he played through pain and contributed with both bat and ball. He brought that form into the home series against England and has already picked up 17 wickets in two Tests.
"In the past when I was on tours, there was that desperation in trying to prove others wrong. But this time, when I went out there, it was proving to myself what I am capable of," Ashwin said.
"One thing I have noticed from a distance when I see people do well is how balanced they are in terms of not wanting to be desperate. Jinks (Rahane), yourself, when you came back to England, you wanted to do well but really within yourself, within your space, which is something I wanted to embrace."
In the end, Kohli lauded Ashwin for the stupendous contributions he's made and hoped to see Ashwin continue in a positive frame of mind. "I hope you keep continuing to be in this happy space that you are. We are loving to have you in this space and seeing you perform on the field in this way. Two more matches to go, hopefully, you continue to do well and keep putting in strong performances and keep doing well for the team," Kohli told Ashwin.