The Ashwin Effect

WHAT MAKES Ravichandran Ashwin the performer that he is? How can he be so good and so consistent on Indian soil and in home conditions? We have asked this question for over a decade now. And each time the answer has been different. Initially, we all thought he was a bundle of talent and was going through a dream period in international cricket. Thereafter, it was about the pitches, which helped Ashwin do what he did. The naysayers floated this theory. And then it was all about his genius. Just a kind of self-belief that I haven’t really seen in many cricketers around.

There is nothing that Ashwin can’t do on a cricket field. When he goes into bat, mentally at least, he considers himself as good as Sachin Tendulkar. At no point does Ashwin consider himself less than anyone, and that’s what explains his ability to punch above his weight. He might play and miss a few but he will always believe that he can hit the next one for four if an opportunity presents itself. Even if the opposition has Cummins or Starc bowling at 145kmph, Ashwin will be unfazed. For him, it is never about the opposition. Rather, it is about what he can do to serve his team. He wants to enjoy the sport that he loves and create legacies that he can be proud of. To do it yet one more time for his father who has sacrificed everything to make Ashwin the cricketer he is.

It is known that Ashwin is a very good reader of the game. That he overthinks at times. But more than all of it, it is his love for the game that defines Ashwin. Even if you call him at midnight and ask him for a game of cricket, he will perhaps say yes. And God forbid if you happen to beat him, he will be on your case till the time he has avenged the defeat. Obsessively competitive and ruthlessly determined, Ashwin is a phenomenon. A rare one and perhaps the only one of his kind. With 522 wickets and six Test centuries to his name, statistically, he is as good as Kapil Dev as an all-rounder. On home soil, he has won India more Test matches than any other player. And when you add the number of times he has saved the team with the bat, you realise he has not always been celebrated enough as an all-rounder. Again, it boils down to self-belief. The moment Ashwin is pitted against an adversary who is good enough to beat him, the best comes out of him. Ashwin versus Steve Smith is the classic example. Ahead of the 2021 series, by his own admission, Ashwin was obsessed with Steve Smith. “I knew we had to get Smith out to be able to beat Australia. And yes, I was obsessed with him. I had to get into his mind and understand what he could do against me. Think through his every strategy and be a step ahead,” he had once said to me. The truth is he did. And even got the better of Steve Smith in his own backyard.

Has India done justice to Ashwin? Have we been fair to him and given him his due? Maybe not. Each time we have played away from home, the question has been if Ashwin should get an opportunity in the side. Take the World Test Championship final in 2023 as an example. On the morning of the match, the call was taken to leave Ashwin out. Under overcast conditions, India went in with an extra seamer and the move backfired. Despite knowing that the Australians had many left-handers in the team, Ashwin was benched. The match was over in four days, and yet again, a final was lost. This is just one of many such examples. And yet when you ask Ashwin, he will shrug it off. For him, it is always about the glass half-full than half-empty. He isn’t ever concerned with what he hasn’t got. Rather, for him, it is about wearing that India shirt and giving it his all. Trying to improve each time he gets a call-up. Making a difference to his team from situations of adversity and in doing so, enjoying his art all that more.

A prediction is in order here. Ashwin will perhaps surpass Anil Kumble’s record of 619 Test wickets for India. With three years of cricket still left in him and with sport science having added a couple of years to every player’s career, it will be no surprise to see Ashwin last one more World Test Championship cycle. If he does so, 100 or more wickets are there for the taking. Add a couple of centuries or fifties and you are talking about someone with 620-plus Test wickets and 7-8 Test centuries. Will we then call him the best or still hold back? Will we give him the mantle of being India’s greatest-ever matchwinner, and alongside Kapil Dev, that of being India’s greatest red ball all-rounder? Chances are we will not. We will still say things like he was helped by the turning tracks we prepared, he got Ravindra Jadeja to bowl from the other side, and a lot many more excuses. Will Ashwin care? The answer is no. He will yet again brush it off and say all that matters to him is to be able to play the sport for as long as he can and win India as many Test matches as he possibly can. It is the purity of his art that makes Ashwin special. He just loves cricket and loves to play it as much. Maybe, that’s why he had said to me once, “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 the effort, that’s where you will see I will never back down. Give it my all. Results will come.”

At Chepauk, India was reeling at 144-6 when Ashwin joined Jadeja in the middle. He scored 12 of the first eight balls. Uninhibited, well-thought-out counterpunch that floored Bangladesh in the next two hours. By the end of the day, India was 339-6 and the game was in the bag. Thereafter, he went wicketless in the first innings and the murmurs had started. Ashwin did not bother. All he did was come back and pick six in the second innings and close the match out for India. Also, on Day 4 of the Test match, he was constantly speaking to Rohit Sharma about possible field placements at the Chepauk, a ground Ashwin knows better than anyone. That’s him—the perfect team man and the perfect devotee who plays a sport he just adores. And that’s what makes watching Ashwin special. Here is someone who is not afraid of trying things out for he knows he is doing so with utmost commitment and passion. More of Ashwin will only benefit India. And any aspiring cricketer who watches Ashwin will know what it takes to succeed amidst adversity. For the moment, though, it is time to watch him one more time in Kanpur. And celebrate him winning another series for India.

all-rounderBangladeshChennaiChepaukIndian cricket teamRavichandran Ashwin