Ashwin opens up on World Test Championship omission and plans to extend career
Ravichandran Ashwin was a curious omission from the India XI that lined up against Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final, especially with the off-spinner the No.1 bowler in the current ICC MRF Tyres Men’s Test player rankings.
But the 36-year-old was forced to watch on as India selected fellow tweaker Ravindra Jadeja to partner four pacers, only for Australia to take out the WTC Final at the Oval by 209 runs.
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“I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last (WTC) Final I got four wickets and bowled really well,” Ashwin told the Indian Express and Sportstar.
“Ever since 2018-19, my bowling overseas has been fantastic and I have managed to win games for the team.
“The last time when we were in England, it was 2-2 with a drawn Test and they would have felt four pacers and one spinner is the combination in England.
“That is what they might have thought going into the Final.”
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Ashwin had strong claims to be part of the India line-up for the decider after terrorising Australia in their recent Test series on home soil when he shared the Player of the Series award with Jadeja.
The right-armer was also one of the standouts in the WTC 2021-23 with 61 wickets in 13 Tests to finish with the third-most victims in the cycle.
The veteran off-spinner’s Test experience stretches back to a debut in 2011 and a total of 92 matches in the format, so he has learned to move on quickly from the highs and lows that come with elite sport.
“For me, it’s not a setback. It’s just a stumbling block,” Ashwin said about his omission from the WTC Final.
“I’ll move on because I have gone through that. When somebody knocks you down for the first time, you have a knee-jerk reaction.
“I think you should be knocked down once in a while along your life so that you are used to it and will know how to bounce back. That’s what life is.
“I knew I was going to be left out 48 hours before. So for me, my entire goal was to make sure I can contribute to the guys and help us win a title because I played a part in it.
“I’m a lot more chilled than I used to be. A lot more relaxed in my life than I ever have been.”
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Ashwin also revealed that he was close to retiring between the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year and the WTC Final due to an ongoing issue with his knee.
But the evergreen spinner now hopes that a change in bowling action will extend his career.
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“I told my wife that the Australia series could become my last series,” Ashwin said, before explaining his approach in the lead up to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
“I used to have some knee issues. I told I am going to change my action because it (has) really got a lot of momentum and with that, when I was landing, my knee was buckling a little bit.
“To change my action, it’s got to be the most stupid and ridiculous thing to do. So I came back and said, listen, there’s a lot of load on the knee, it’s time to change and I’m going to go back to my action that used to bowl in 2013-14.
“I had to take an injection at that point in time, so, I changed my action. I started bowling and my knee pain went away. I practised for three-four days in Nagpur and I went into the (first) Test match without having played a game with that action at all.
“On the first day of the Test, I didn’t even feel like a bowler for three to four overs, but I was able to get on with it because of the awareness I have.”