India’s charismatic off-spinning allrounder tells Dileep Premachandran how he’s become so damn good.
On the eve of India’s recent Test series against New Zealand, and in between matches for Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, I caught up with R Ashwin at a school ground where wards from the GenNext Cricket Academy that he runs were practising. As we watched them strive for pace, sharp turn and the perfect straight drive, I asked him why it was that so many with great natural ability never make it to the top.
“I would say attitude is about 90 per cent,” he says. “Talent is probably two per cent. And method is the rest. I was a talented cricketer coming through the ranks, but since getting into club cricket and then first-class cricket, only method started fetching me results. I think method, and more importantly attitude, is everything.”
By attitude, he isn’t talking about strutting around the field with his collar up, mouthing off to all and sundry. Instead, he speaks of what he has learned from closer to home. “I think my attitude comes a lot from my mother, in terms of fighting and trying to be excellent,” he says. “Trying to explore different things… that comes from my mother. Right from childhood, she’s been a pillar of support. My dad’s been the one who came along with me to cricket grounds and watched all my games. But the attitude comes from my mother telling me a lot of her own stories and experiences from corporate life.
“I’ve probably taken it to another level. I know in certain instances, I am mad. It could sound atrocious to a lot of people when they first listen to me. But my experiences as an international cricket and IPL player, from about 2008, have taught me a completely new dimension. I’ve got nothing easy. I had to wait in the wings to get a chance. When you get a couple of games a year in your first two years in international cricket, that can be incredibly hard. But I’ve come through that grind.”
He’s clear on what to expect this time round. “England are a very good Test side,” he says, having watched as much as he could of the riveting series against Pakistan. “You want good Test cricket to happen. I’m sure it’s going to be an intense five-Test series. We did reasonably well in a couple of Tests in England [in 2014] and then petered out. As far as I’m concerned, 2012 was a learning experience. I’ve been able to rectify a lot of the mistakes I made then, and I don’t think I’ll be under any additional pressure because of what happened then.
“They have some quality cricketers. We are a young side and will need to punch well above our weight. This time, though, England will be up against a much better, rounded Indian side. There was a lot of transition happening then. Maybe the abilities are not the same – that dressing room had a lot of serious ability. But this one has a lot of characters, and it’s going to take a lot to beat us.”
Kohli hasn’t picked the same XI in consecutive games since he became Test captain. A firm believer in horses for courses, the one thoroughbred he backs without hesitation is Ashwin. And the Chennai boy who started off as a top- order bat isn’t going to be spending much time in the build- up to the series focusing on what happened in 2012.
“As far as I’m concerned, my batting was my best memory from that series!” he says. “I did have a couple of good spells. I bowled one in Ahmedabad in the first innings (3-80) and then one in the second innings in Kolkata (2-31). There’s no point looking back at what Pietersen did or what Cook did. Before I realised what I needed to do with Cook in that series, he’d got a couple of hundreds. He’s a little different from other left-handers, so I had to shift lines. Shifting lines… someone coming and telling me about it took some time. Usually, I’m on the button when it comes to judging where I need to be bowling for a particular batsman, but it took time then because he was very unconventional. He was sweeping well, getting good strides forward. I needed to correct a lot of things, and I had technical glitches in my own bowling. I’m in a far better state to understand my bowling now.”
It’s no exaggeration to suggest that particular contest – Cook against Ashwin – could hold the key to the series. In the two-and-a-bit years since their paths last crossed, Ashwin – the second-fastest to 200 Test wickets after Clarrie Grimmett – has become the consummate locksmith.
