All-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin bowed out of international cricket as an absolute legend. Ashwin called time on his career after the third Test between India and Australia ended in a draw in Brisbane. Being the highest wicket-taker among active bowlers with 537 scalps, many expected Ashwin, 38, to continue for some more time. However, his decision left the entire cricket fraternity and fans heartbroken. Recently, the ace all-rounder appeared on a podcast and shared a never-heard before incident about him and the former India head coach Ravi Shastri.
Appearing on Sky Sports podcast with former England skipper Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton, Ashwin revealed an incident from the 2018 Test series between India and England, where he received some harsh criticism from Ravi Shastri.
In the 2018 series in England, India ended up on the losing side 1-4. Amid the series, Ashwin appeared on a show called “Masterclass”, hosted by former England star Ian Ward. In that show, Ashwin spoke about his bowling technique, variations, and even about his most popular carrom ball.
This act by Ashwin did not go well with Shastri, who then gave some “real pasting” to the all-rounder.
“I got a real pasting from Ravi Shastri for doing that masterclass. I’m sure you’ve heard about that from him. I think he had his point, but somehow, inside me, I never felt insecure about it. I think there’s two things in the game, right?” said Ashwin while speaking to Nasser and Atherton on Sky Sports.
“One is to be able to deliver what you have, and the other is to be able to respond to what you throw down the other end, and I always believed, and I had the courage to say, here’s what I have to dish out,” he added.
Ashwin further stated that he is really confident about his own skills and never hesitated while talking about his techniques.
“Let’s see if you’ve got it in you to come at me and very few times I found that the batters have not had the courage to come at me for that and I think it’s all it also plays a very deep mental game,” said Ashwin.
“Probably it’s a battle I have in my own head but all that aside I’ve never been shy of sharing what I’ve got because for me every time I shared I found a question inside me so when I shared and I got a question I had this unique capability to be able to take that question on board and find answers for it,” he added.
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