Ravichandran Ashwin: Sehwag demoralised me

The ICC No. 2 ranked Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin stated in an interview at the ‘What the Duck’ chat show that he had endured a demoralizing spell while bowling to the former flamboyant Indian opener Virender Sehwag. He said, “Sehwag was never complicated. He had a demoralizing effect on me actually,” This incident is surely not from the recent past but had a perpetual presence in Ashwin’s memory.

He briefly described his experience while preparing for a Test in Dambulla against Sri Lanka. “There was an incident in Dambulla, where every ball that I bowled, first ball I bowled outside off stump, Sehwag cut me. Next ball I bowled on off stump, he cuts me. Next ball I bowled on middle stump, he cuts me. The next ball I bowl on leg stump, he again cuts me. So I said ‘what the hell is happening’. So I just bowled a ball fuller, Sehwag stepped out and slugged me out for a six,” Ashwin said.

Being a newbie in the team at that time, this could have been nothing but frustrating for the off-spinner. He went clueless on how to bowl at him without being smashed. “I said to myself either I am just not good enough or this guy is just way too good … which he was. But to the greater Sachin Tendulkar also, I didn’t struggle with bowling so much in the nets too. I was very inquisitive. I observed this for a few days.

Being demoralized over his performance against Sehwag he went to him asking for suggestions for how he could improve his bowling. “I went to him and asked, ‘so what should I do to improve’. If I had asked Sachin, he would have given me some tips. If it were MS, he would have given me a perspective, Viru said ‘You know what, I don’t think off-spinners are bowlers. They do not trouble me at all. I just find it easy smashing them’.

“I said ‘Sir you are cutting me’. He said, ‘Yeah, I hit off-spinners against the spin on the off side and for left-arm spinners, I will hit against the spin on the leg side. I said, ‘okay, fine’. The next day I tried something in the nets he again started hitting me in different zones. He was actually treating me like a road-rag. Like how I would treat a 10-year-old kid if I was batting against him,” he stated.

After being thrashed during net sessions on multiple occasions by Sehwag, Ashwin finally managed to figure out a way to get the better of the hard-hitting batsman. He planned to bowl the ‘best rubbish ball’ against him. This was well thought through and he was then successful in applying it on the field.

“So the best possible plan against Sehwag was to bowl every single ball as best rubbish ball that you can give. And I got him out a few times in the IPL that way. Because what he expects is not what you dish out. Because he expects you to bowl good balls,”

“I realized one fine day that it was his ego that you needed to bowl against. Because he gave me a very interesting story. He said he had a fever in a game at Rohtak. And smashed Harbhajan for 12 sixes. ‘You know Harbhajan is a good off spinner.’ I said, ‘Yeah Harbhajan is a good off spinner.’ But that doesn’t mean you smoke him for 12 sixes with fever.

“I even asked him for the story behind it. He said he opened the innings and hit him for 2 sixes and came back due to fever. He went in at number 10 and smashed for another 10 sixes. The wicket was spinning square, you know. I asked, ‘Sir, what did you do?’ He said, ‘Every ball because it was spinning, I decided to smack him over the leg side. He said that he hit him even from outside the pitch. Outside off stump and hit him for a six on the leg side,”

“So basically for Sehwag, it was very simple, he hit people on good balls. So my simple strategy to Sehwag was to bowl rubbish balls. And it worked. Because when you start bowling rubbish balls, he starts dictating the pace to you with your rubbish balls or you’re so-called against him.”

Recalling some moments from behind the camera, Ashwin revealed some of Sehwag’s tricks which could have been handy for bowlers if he played spin today. The ‘rubbish ball’ concept might seem strange but anything that works in getting wickets and winning a match is always a good skill to learn.