India’s Test specialist Ravichandran Ashwin has had a glittering career thus far and hardly put a foot wrong in the longest format of the game.
However, Ashwin has faced the axe in his specialized format off-late during overseas Test matches.
Ashwin was dropped in the Sydney Test during 2018-19 Australian tour. Then, the Tamil Nadu offie was forced to sit out throughout the entirety of the 2019 West Indies series.
Even during the Christchurch Test match, earlier this year, Ashwin could not find a place for himself in the lineup. The team management opted for the three-dimensional depth of Ravindra Jadeja at Ash’s cost during away Test matches.
Moreover, Ashwin remains the first-choice spinner during home series and found his rhythm back during the 2019 series against South Africa.
Now, the off-spinner has opened up on his psyche after being left out of the side, tagging it as part and parcel of the game.
“One feels dejected and disappointed when dropped. But that is how sport is. This happens. Take the recent example of Stuart Broad. He was dropped from the first Test against the West Indies and ended up making a great comeback in the next game. I too have swung between those extremes. Either I take five-wicket hauls or I get dropped. I just don’t let the negativity get to me,” Ashwin told Hindustan Times.
After the 2017 Champions Trophy, the Indian think tank went ahead with the wrist-spinning options of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav in coloured clothing.
Since then, the finger-spinner has been out of favour in limited-overs cricket but believes he has a lot of white-ball cricket left in him.
“I like to believe I can play T20s and ODIs for India. I believe in my skills. I would like to take this belief to my grave also that, ‘yes, I can play in all formats’. Last season, I did pretty well for KXIP and I feel there is a lot of white-ball cricket left in me. I am always hopeful and up for the challenge,” Ashwin concluded.
