"We have had numerous conversations" - Dinesh Karthik recalls batting discussions with Ravichandran Ashwin

Keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik recently spoke about how he has often had conversations about batting with Ravichandran Ashwin in the past.

He mentioned that the spinner has, on several occasions, bailed out Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket with his batting exploits. He recalled how the lower-order batter struck a stunning century during a Ranji Trophy match at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala where the others failed to get going.

The veteran cricketer made these remarks while speaking to Cricbuzz on Thursday, December 15:

"We [Ravichandran Ashwin and I] have had numerous conversations about batting, technical details about power-hitting, and various other things. I remember in Ranji Trophy, in a game at Dharamshala, the ball was doing tremendously a lot. It was very cold, around 6 °C in the morning."

He added:

"We were 60/5 when Ashwin walked in. Some of the shots that he played were brilliant. He was just dominating them, and it was so good to watch. I got out after that, but he went on to score a lovely hundred."

Ashwin came up with a crucial knock 🫡

#CricketTwitter #banvsind https://t.co/t8PBs36hsq

Calling Ashwin a 'scientist', Karthik highlighted how the crafty spinner keeps on discovering new things about his game time and time again. He also suggested that the Team India star relishes playing gully cricket whenever he returns to Chennai. He added:

"Ashwin plays a lot of gully cricket in Chennai. He enjoys doing that even now when he comes back home. It's a lot of fun to watch him do all of that. When it comes to cricket, he is like a scientist. He keeps discovering new things about himself, be it bowling or batting. He has maximized his talent over a period of time."

Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin failed to pick up a single wicket on Day 2 (Thursday, December 15) of the ongoing first Test between India and Bangladesh. However, he contributed significantly with the bat, scoring 58 runs to help his side post a total of 404 in the first innings.

"He is a proper all-rounder in Test cricket" - Dinesh Karthik on Ravichandran Ashwin

Dinesh Karthik also claimed that Ravichandran Ashwin cannot be referred to as a tailender, especially in red-ball cricket. He pointed out how the right-handed batter has performed admirably with the bat, even in challenging conditions in Australia and England.

The 37-year-old went on to say that Ashwin has also been working hard to become an improved batter in white-ball cricket. He also commended the bowling all-rounder for looking confident at the crease against Bangladesh.

Karthik elaborated:

"He is a proper all-rounder in Test cricket. He has got runs in various conditions, including five Test hundreds. The fact that he has got runs in England and Australia shows that he is a batter with good skill. He has upped his batting in white-ball cricket recently with those lusty hits that he has been practicing."

He added:

"You could see that when he came to the crease, he was very sure of himself. It was a really good stint of batting, and those kinds of partnerships can really irritate you as an opponent. Ravichandran Ashwin should definitely not be called a tailender."

That's Stumps on Day 2 of the first #BANvIND Test!

A dominating show with the ball by #TeamIndia! 👍👍

4⃣ wickets for @imkuldeep18
3⃣ wickets for @mdsirajofficial
1⃣ wicket for @y_umesh

Scorecard ▶️ bit.ly/BANvIND-1STTEST https://t.co/SkqzNIqlSj

Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav's 87-run partnership for the eighth wicket was instrumental in India crossing the 400-run mark against Bangladesh. Ashwin received appreciation from all quarters as he completed his 13th Test fifty.