“The pain never really goes off” - Ravichandran Ashwin recalls struggle with injuries between 2017 and 2019
Team India’s seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up on his battles with multiple injury issues between 2017 and 2019. The 35-year-old revealed that a condition called "patellar tendonitis" made even basic tasks like walking extremely painful.
Ashwin overcame the tough times and recently played a key role in India’s Test series win at home against New Zealand. The offie was named Player of the Series for claiming 14 wickets in two Tests at an average of 11.36.
In an interview with The Cricket Monthly, Ashwin recalled how he overcame one injury after the other. The tenacious cricketer said:
“When it comes to physical preparation, between 2017 and 2019, I first got struck by this injury called patellar tendonitis. It is not like you can't play with it, but the beauty of the injury is that your knees just won't warm up. In the morning, even walking can be excruciatingly painful. They open up as the day pans out, but you can't jog. It takes at least two or three laps before it feels okay. The pain never really goes off.”
Ashwin added that the injury initially affected his right leg, which made jumping extremely difficult. Explaining his struggles, he stated:
“You need to have a bit of a jump, you have to go on one leg at least for a fraction of a second before you deliver the ball. So it became very challenging. Even my practice had started to become a bit of a challenge. And eventually the left leg got affected too, because of the extra load it had to carry.”
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Things got worse for Ashwin as he was later hit by "athletic pubalgia" which, he feels, was an extension of the first injury. Elaborating on how the second injury affected his bowling, the spinner said:
“Every other part of the body had to make up for what the knee wasn't able to produce.Then I started to bowl with different actions. Because of athletic pubalgia, getting into a side-on position every time would be tough. Then after about ten overs into a spell, all of a sudden there would be no energy going through the body. Then I tore my abdomen, then I tore my adductors. It was like dominos. These injuries left a lot of scars on me.”
To his credit, Ashwin not only worked his way back to fitness, but also made a comeback to the white-ball team after four years during the T20 World Cup in the UAE.
“To doubt my intent is something that deeply hurt me” - Ravichandran Ashwin
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During the interaction, Ashwin also admitted that he was extremely hurt by allegations that he used injuries as an excuse to run away from the contest. The Tamil Nadu cricketer lamented that while many other cricketers in the team got injured, it was always different when he was unfit.
Ashwin commented:
“A lot of team-mates get injured, but when I got injured, it seemed more than what it was. There was insensitivity towards injury. It scarred me deeply. I would go to county cricket thinking, "I should just get through the day." That I should bowl 25 overs without injuring myself. Because if I injure myself in county cricket, I would end up raising eyebrows.”
Ashwin conceded:
“One thing that will forever hurt me is that statements were made about how I didn't want to play or how I ran away from a contest. You can brand me anything, you can kick me out, all that is fine, but to doubt my intent or my fight is something that deeply hurt me."
During the Test series against New Zealand, Ashwin went past Harbhajan Singh to become India’s third-leading wicket-taker in the longer version of the game. He now has 427 scalps to his name from 81 Tests at an average of 24.12.