Off-spinner R Ashwin will have the added responsibilty of being the lead tweaker in the ODIs against England
For the first time since his international debut in June last year, Ravichandran Ashwin will go into a limited-overs series as India’s lead spinner in his own right when the five-match showdown against England begins in a few days’ time.
The 25-year-old from Tamil Nadu, who has had to play second fiddle to Harbhajan Singh, has been preferred to the senior off-spinner this time around. A qualified engineer, the ‘spinner who thrives under pressure’ tells Deccan Herald in this free-wheeling conversation that he is happy with whatever role he is entrusted with. Excerpts:
Lead spinner for India for the first time – does it make you nervous, or more pumped up?
I don’t think things are going to be any different. I am going to do the same things I did when I was the second spinner. In the past, I never thought of myself as a support spinner. I always did what I knew best. I have not kept anyone out of the side, I have nothing to do with who is there and who is not there. Obviously, I have played alongside Harbhajan and he is a class act. I have seen how he goes about his business. I have learnt a thing or two along the way. I will try and put everything into practice, and try and see that India wins. That is the first priority — winning again.
You are known as a ‘Power Play’ bowler. How does one reconcile to the fact that it’s a role that can invite punishment?
Accepting the fact that you can get hit is the most important aspect of bowling in Power Plays. Having said that, when you are playing as the main spinner, the chances of you bowling in the Power Plays are lesser. You just come into the act when the batting Power Play is on, bowl a couple of overs.
The roles are different. I enjoyed the role in England, I bowled more in the middle overs, it was much more enjoyable because you can be more attacking in your own right. Both roles are very different. In Power Plays, you can get away with a few bad balls because you have to try and curtail runs, which means you will have to bowl a few dot balls. But bowling in the middle overs is a completely different scenario.
To come to terms with copping punishment is very tough. You will get affected; if you don’t get affected, then there is something seriously wrong with your psyche! Knowing what has gone wrong, trying to digest it, to take it forward and not repeat what you have done – that’s the key. You can’t keep brooding over it.
Is that mindset a natural gift, or can it be acquired?
It has to be developed if you have to play cricket at this level. It needs to be there naturally, otherwise you have to try and learn it. It has been a part of the learning curve for me, I have learnt quite a lot after having been hit, after having had a few bad games. Bad games are bound to be there if you are a bowler, basically. This is a game made for batsmen in a lot of aspects. You have to learn from your mistakes, know what’s going wrong. I think we make the error of not trying to find out what’s gone wrong. As a bowler in limited-overs cricket, you are playing mind games with the batter. It helps if you can hold your ground and think on your feet.
Does your educational background help you at all as a bowler?
It definitely does, especially in terms of angles. I have a fair idea of where I can get hit, of assessing where the batsman is very good at and where you are prepared to get hit. For me, I don’t analyse from the feet of someone who is not as educated as me. Maybe if I do, then I can know where I have an edge, But more than that, as far as I am concerned, if I think I can help out anyone else, I go and tell him.
If you are a bowler, your ten overs can count for some pressure but it’s only if you do well as a bowling unit can you get positive results. As far as I am concerned, you are only as good a bowler as your bowling unit is.
Early in your career, you spent a lot of time on the bench. How did you keep yourself positive and motivated?
I have answered my parents, my own inner conscience, with honesty. Some people used to say I should have been playing, others said I had to bide my time. It’s very easy to get carried away by all this but the one very big advantage I had was that I was sitting with an international team for quite a long time. I learnt a lot in the process not just in terms of practical knowledge, but in terms of visual knowledge also. There was a big transformation in me when I came back to Chennai after a tour of Zimbabwe and the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.
I had bowled a lot in the nets, which meant I experimented more and more and I had a lot of ideas, a lot of vision. I changed a lot in my bowling which helped me tweak things around. These things are a gift in a nicely wrapped parcel. I don’t know how many people get it but I did. And I thought about it in a positive way, which definitely helped me.
How desperate are you to play Test cricket?
Honestly, not desperate at all. I am not even thinking about it. If it has to happen, so be it. But it is a definite dream for anybody to get a Test cap and bowl in a Test match. Test cricket is a game of cat and mouse. But selection to the Test squad is not in my hands, and I would like to control what is in my hands.
What do you make of new balls at either end in 50-over cricket?
Unless things unfold, you won’t really know, will you? But when there are two new balls, the chances of the ball swinging for longer are more, which means the fast bowlers have a greater chance of picking up early wickets, which in turn means the spinner has a greater chance of attacking. There’s nothing to complain about. I always maintain that the white ball, especially when it is hard, does more in Indian conditions. It’s a blessing, the seam is pronounced.
Do you feel there is score to settle against England after what happened when India went there earlier this year?
The personal mindset is basically to first of all see how they are going to play in Indian conditions. I know how they played in England and how it was to bowl to them in England. It wasn’t very tough, to be very honest. It was quite an okay job, I enjoyed it. The ball was hanging a fair bit, and I had to come up with a strategy to keep it in the air for a longer time. In India, it is going to be a lot more different. Obviously, people cannot just slog at you across the line, it is not going to be all that easy. To get your runs consistently, you need to play proper cricket shots. I’d love to see how they react to these conditions.
