Only a co-incidence that I bowled more overs than Ravichandran in some matches: Murugan Ashwin
The last seven months have been quite eventful for Tamil Nadu spinner Murugan Ashwin. From making his first class debut in December to joining Mahendra Singh Dhoni captained Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rising Pune Supergiants for a whopping Rs 4.5 crore, it’s been a quick climb up the Indian cricket hierarchy.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, the 25-year old said, ”It was a learning experience for me in the first year. The core difference between December and now is how I manage various facets of my game. Even extrinsic things such as monitoring my food, how I prepare before a game and working on my post match rituals. It was an honour to play with MS Dhoni, he gave me so many ideas especially during the game. He told me how to use my variations during the game, which helped me a lot.”
Both the Ashwins combined (Murugan and Ravichandran) took 24 wickets among them. There were several occasions including RPSG’s first match against Mumbai Indians, where Murugan bowled more overs than his senior spin partner. Talking about this angle, he said, “Dhoni Sir had a lot of statistical ideas in his head, while executing those ideas, he found me or Ravichandran useful on separate occasions. Hence it was only co-incidental when that happened. Bowling alongside one of the best spinners of the world is a dream coming true for me.”
Goal is to play for India soon, but must prove myself in domestic circuit first: Murugan
Murugan took seven wickets in 10 matches, bowling a total of 28.3 overs. He added, “Ravi Sir showed me how to deal with which batsman. He is an extremely aggressive bowler, and playing with him helped me implement my style in different situations. I learned a lot and hopefully I can keep contributing for my team, by expanding my delivery base.”
The Chennai-based spinner rates is three wicket haul against Kings XI Punjab as his best performance so far. He added, “Every bowler remembers his first wicket, apart from that dismissing Murali Vijay, Shaun Marsh in the same match was a special feeling. All the wickets were amazing, but some stood out because of the deliveries, like I mentioned.”
Harbouring dreams of national team selection, Murugan is now gearing up for the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The domestic T-20 league is promising to be a star-studded affair with the likes of Lance Klusener being roped in. Murugan added, “Every player who plays at any level, dreams of representing India. Right now I want to concentrate mainly on the upcoming Chennai leagues and then domestic circuit. So that is the eventual goal, but I must prove myself on the domestic circuit first.”