Ashwin: I have rediscovered myself

Ravichandran Ashwin is ecstatic after taking six wickets on his debut in Sri Lanka, and said he has rediscovered himself after critically analyzing his bowling. The Sri Lankans were clueless against him who left all the batsman bamboozled with the turn and bounce he extracted on the first day of the Test match.

“Some credit should go to Ravichandran Ashwin also,” India’s strike bowler said at the post-day press conference adding, “Because I have taken stock of my own bowling, being a lot critical of myself, raised a lot of questions and got fruitful answers from both Bharat Arun and Ravi Shastri. That has actually enabled me to try and discover myself.”

“I think nothing is a permanent feat in life as you start stagnating. I think you have to keep improving,” the Tamil Nadu tweaker added with a touch of pragmatism.

The 28-year-old was very pleased with his and India’s performance as they bowled the hosts out on 183 and ended day on 128 for 2.

“I am very happy to do it on a consecutive basis,” said Ashwin, referring to the 5/87 he took in Bangladesh on the preceding Test tour.

“I think it is more about how the game is. I am not looking at my personal milestones. I want to get better. The process is in place and it’s perfect. I am looking at it from that perspective.”
Ashwin also feels that he doesn’t have to differentiate between home and foreign conditions, he just needs to stick to a particular line and length.

“I am not looking too much into what is foreign and what is local performance. So I tried to put an end to that kind of feel. I want to move ahead and do better for the team. It’s an extraordinary performance to bowl out a team in a day especially in Sri Lankan conditions after having lost the toss,” he added.

Ashwin also added that Ravi Shastri has also helped him a lot in this process of rediscovering.

“Ravi Shastri is a very positive influence on the team. When I was not playing in Australia, he (Shastri) came to me and told me why I was not playing. He gave me a bit of sympathy about why I am not playing. It is not generally something I look for. He has been a very positive influence.”

Ashwin told that Shastri told him about the conditions he had to face in Australia and that’s where he took off.

“I am someone who likes talking cricket and discussing cricket. Especially with him around he is someone who enjoys the same pattern. When we talk and discuss a lot, new opportunities open up to try a few things and the improvement has already started.”