'Why somebody else gets more games to fail and I get only one?': R Ashwin on making 'peace' with disappointments

[vvvslaxman]

6 minutes ago, putrevus said:

If Ashwin had played the finals , Head was not scoring that 100.

 

Jadeja has not won any test in SENA with his bowling either.When you play with just five batsmen and they were awful in last three years, Jadeja's batting became a necessity more than his bowling.

 

Knowing Ashwin's command over lefties and Australians the match up should have been obvious given that they ordered a crap black soil pitch. Also missing of "no rounder" Pandya  means they had to accommodate genuine third seamer Siraj. If Pandya had played Ashwin could have come in

Edited March 8 by vvvslaxman

[vvvslaxman]

Biggest compliment comes from Aussies rather than some of the Indian fans 

 

 

[Kron]

2 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

Biggest compliment comes from Aussies rather than some of the Indian fans 

 

 

These guys are jut using india' clout for promoting their channel. Just using India's name to get more views. They are sponsored by adko. 

 

Doubt they actually feel the way they do. They do rate india highly but below Australia which is understandable. 

 

Problem I find with these guys is they don't put out videos when india does badly. Never

 

 

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, Kron said:

These guys are jut using india' clout for promoting their channel. Just using India's name to get more views. They are sponsored by adko. 

 

Doubt they actually feel the way they do. They do rate india highly but below Australia which is understandable. 

 

Problem I find with these guys is they don't put out videos when india does badly. Never

 

 

I doubt they do that. They talk about everyone like that. If they really want views they just have to talk about MSD and Kohli in we very video.

[jf1gp_1]

On 3/5/2024 at 5:21 PM, rollingstoned said:

'Why somebody else gets more games to fail and I get only one?': R Ashwin on making 'peace' with disappointments

 

India vs England 5th Test in Dharamsala: Before his 100th Test, Ashwin poured his heart out in an interview with Anil Kumble.

 

 

India's Ravichandran Ashwin speaks during a press conference in Dharamsala(AFP)

 

 

 

Reinventing himself is the only constant in Ravichandran Ashwin's life. Arguably one of India's biggest match-winners in Test cricket since Anil Kumble, Ashwin has found himself out of the XI so many times that it almost became inevitable in the last few years. It is tempting to use the phrase for "reasons known to the team management" to badger the captain and the coach but that is actually not the case. India have always lacked batting depth when touring SENA countries and it so happens that the 'better batter' between India's two champion spinners - Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin - gets the nod.

 

 

Another school of thought would tell you that Jadeja gives more control to the captain, allowing him to rotate his three or four seamers from the other end without even thinking of leaking runs. This is debatable. There is a difference of 0.2 in Ashwin's overall economy rate and his economy in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia. He goes at 2.81 runs per over in SENA countries compared to his overall economy rate of 2.79.

 

 

Jadeja, on the other hand, concedes 2.66 runs per over in SENA countries while maintaining an average of 37.23. Ashwin's average in SENA countries is 39.26. There's hardly anything to choose between the two as a spin-bowler in overseas conditions. It is Jadeja's batting that calls the shots, at least that's what the numbers suggest.

Ashwin has a slight issue with that factor only. Ahead of his milestone 100th Test match which will be against England in Dharamsala, the fastest Indian to claim 500 Test wickets, says he has made peace with the fact that bowlers will always play second fiddle to batters when it comes to getting more chances to fail.

Ashwin pours his heart out in an interview with Anil Kumble

Ashwin, as articulative as he always is, explained his feelings beautifully in an interview with the legendary Kumble on Jio Cinema.

Anil Kumble: “I absolutely believe your 100th Test match should have come much earlier. That’s how I feel because every time India go out and play in England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, you have not played enough. The batters are the same, they tend to adapt to any condition but as a leading bowler, they sort of doubt your credentials of adapting to any condition. So how does that feel?”

R Ashwin: “I don’t want to sound controversial. I can compare this to a lot of other things that are happening in the world right now. But I genuinely do feel that bowlers play second-fiddle to the batters. That’s because probably, batters just get that one chance. I mean you are knocked out; you are out. This used to play on my mind constantly: Why is it that I get one game to fail and why is it that somebody else gets more games to fail? Eventually I have made peace with the fact that the team needs to win. Even when I am not playing and the team wins after five days, I am the most delighted person in the dressing room. When I was young, all I wanted to do was wear the India jersey for one day. Just because of who I am today, I cannot put my selfish interest ahead of the team. Yes, there have been disappointing days, but I have learnt how to deal with it, and I am extremely happy that I played alongside some of the great cricketers that India has ever produced.”

 

 

Guy has played 2 WC which he shouldn't have, god knows what he wants. 

[Lord]

9 hours ago, putrevus said:

I agree but that does not take away from his overall greatness.

 

Yes but he can't complain about getting dropped overseas. In India he's the first pick

[Lord]

9 hours ago, vvvslaxman said:

 

Knowing Ashwin's command over lefties and Australians the match up should have been obvious given that they ordered a crap black soil pitch. Also missing of "no rounder" Pandya  means they had to accommodate genuine third seamer Siraj. If Pandya had played Ashwin could have come in

 

Ashwin could have come in place of SKY only. But that'd have reduced batting further. In hindsight everything is easy.

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, Lord said:

 

Ashwin could have come in place of SKY only. But that'd have reduced batting further. In hindsight everything is easy.

Pandya's absence kinda messed up things. If he were available Ashwin could have come in place of Siraj. Siraj blew hot and cold.

[vvvslaxman]

1 hour ago, Lord said:

 

Yes but he can't complain about getting dropped overseas. In India he's the first pick

I don't think any of us listened to the actual intereview. We just read highlights. He was put in a spot with a question. He always maintained team's decision should be respected.

[putrevus]

Ashwin has showed again what a champion he is , 8 wickets and counting in his 100th test.

Edited March 9 by putrevus

[vvvslaxman]

1 minute ago, putrevus said:

Ashwin has showed again what a champion he is , 8 wickets an  DD counting in his 100th test.

Supposed to be his poor home series  25 wickets (highest for the series) at avge of 24 at a strike rate of 36.

[putrevus]

4 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

Supposed to be his poor home series  25 wickets (highest for the series) at avge of 24 at a strike rate of 36.

I for a moment doubted this great man, he is an absolute pleasure to watch.

Edited March 9 by putrevus

[vvvslaxman]

5 minutes ago, putrevus said:

I for a moment doubted this great man, he is an absolute pleasure to watch.

He was a bit off color. Especially in the test where he had to leave half way through and had to come back. We have to look at bowlers as a unit than individuals. In one match Jaddu will wreak havoc. In anothe rmatch Kuldeep. In another match Bumrah, then Ashwin. We cannot call out bowlers who don't pick up wickets in a specific innings. You have 5 bowlers. All 5 bowlers cannot take 5 wickets al the time. Somebody having a good rhythm might do well. That is how India has maintained 17 series streak. There was one innings where Umesh picked 10fer i think. Then Shami several times ran through top order during this period.  Bumrah himself bowled some breathtaking spells in this series. We should respect them as a unit.

[Lord]

30 minutes ago, vvvslaxman said:

He was a bit off color. Especially in the test where he had to leave half way through and had to come back. We have to look at bowlers as a unit than individuals. In one match Jaddu will wreak havoc. In anothe rmatch Kuldeep. In another match Bumrah, then Ashwin. We cannot call out bowlers who don't pick up wickets in a specific innings. You have 5 bowlers. All 5 bowlers cannot take 5 wickets al the time. Somebody having a good rhythm might do well. That is how India has maintained 17 series streak. There was one innings where Umesh picked 10fer i think. Then Shami several times ran through top order during this period.  Bumrah himself bowled some breathtaking spells in this series. We should respect them as a unit.

 

Yes our dominance is due to bowling unit with Ash/Jaddu covering up for batting too at times. 

[Gollum]

And some buddhijeevis were saying Ashwin only picks lower order wickets. Some time later they will claim this pitch was a dustbowl. 

[Gollum]

@Vijy I told you stats at the end of the series would show the difference between our spinners and theirs. 

[Gollum]

1 hour ago, putrevus said:

I for a moment doubted this great man, he is an absolute pleasure to watch.

For some players the benchmarks and expectations are so high that the moment they have a couple of poor outings, people start asking questions or downplaying their past achievements. It isn't humanly possible to fire in every match, even Don Bradman could never do that. 

[Gollum]

Read the interview, quite grounded, headline is just to catch eyeballs. 

[Gollum]

11 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said:

Guy has played 2 WC which he shouldn't have, god knows what he wants. 

Pretty sure he would have preferred playing a few tests in Eng in 2021 (our 1st overseas assignment after his praiseworthy BGT 2020-21 exploits) or the WTC F over these WCs. Heck he played just one game in the home WC, why would he feel happy about that useless experience?  

Edited March 9 by Gollum

[Vijy]

5 hours ago, Gollum said:

@Vijy I told you stats at the end of the series would show the difference between our spinners and theirs. 

I agree he turned the situation around comfortably in last 2 tests, but I didn't care much for him in first 3 tests. he is 37 and does not have andi-like fitness. 1 more year and then he should be phased out

Edited March 9 by Vijy