-Boria Majumdar
Ravi Ashwin isn’t a natural T-20 player. Never was. He isn’t the best fielder on the park. Never was. He doesn’t run the fastest and no one knows these limitations better than Ashwin himself. And that’s what works for him. His desire to be out there. Take the critics on, defy the naysayers and just compete. Ashwin loves the game way too much to give up on it. And sometimes the desire to do something far outweighs the limitations. When Ashwin was picked in the 2021 world cup squad, many were surprised. He hadn’t played white ball cricket for India since 2017 and his return raised a few eyebrows. The size of the grounds in the UAE and the nature of the pitches, expected to be tired with the IPL preceding the world cup, was cited as the reason. It was more a one off inclusion rather than a change in mindset.
India did not have the best world cup in 2021 and again in 2022. Ashwin, by his own high standards, was modest at best. For someone like him who is India’s go to man in Test cricket, it was very easy to give up on the format. Focus on the five day game and add his legacy. Why take a chance with something which isn’t working? Not Ashwin.
With Ashwin what we will always get is competitiveness. Having known him for years, I remember a comment he once made. “If I die playing cricket I wouldn’t mind. I will do everything I can to play the game for India. That’s the only thing I have wanted to do. And I am fortunate that I have got the opportunity. You will always see me give more than my best. Yes I will fail. In sport you have to fail. But effort, that’s where you will see I will never back down. Give it my all. Results will come.”
It is this mindset that sets him apart. Be it his special physical training during Covid or his determination to bat out the Sydney Test when he wasn’t even able to stand up, Ravi Ashwin has done it time and again.
Add the most committed training regime to this mindset. For the IPL he will work the hardest and come up with something innovative. For him it is the process. The preparation. Results aren’t always in his hands. But in terms of effort, he will put in more than every youngster. Ashwin has to make a mental adjustment each time he plays the IPL. And yet the hunger is evident and the skill second to none. He has given us enough evidence to celebrate him each time he steps out for RR. While there is no point in looking back, suffice to say Ravi Ashwin still has a lot to contribute in white ball cricket. For his franchise at least. He still remains a match winner on his day. With age increasingly becoming irrelevant in sport thanks to sports science, Ashwin definitely has a few years left in top flight cricket.
Finally, lets state it once and for all. Ashwin the all rounder deserves far greater recognition than he gets. In Test cricket for example his 450 wickets at 24 makes him one of the best ever and as a result his batting contributions often go unnoticed. But with 5 Test hundreds and many important knocks over the last decade, Ashwin the all rounder has been one of the best ever for India. His under-utilised batting ability has prompted RR to take a punt with him every now and then and promote him up the order. And on more than one occasion he hasn’t let them down. That’s because he handles pressure better than many. With him It all boils down to who wants to win that extra bit more. Who is prepared to look ugly but get the job done. It’s about fight. A kind of doggedness that is often obsessive and inspirational.
While he will never be a Kohli or Rohit or even a Bumrah, he is good for the sport. A sort of proof that things do get done if you are willing to bet your life on it. This season too will be no different. Success or failure, Ashwin will follow the process. Push himself every single day and in doing so add to his legacy.