R Ashwin credits Virat Kohli for backing him to the hilt

Ashwin praises Kohli

Indian in-form spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has credited Test captain Virat Kohli for backing him as a frontline bowler, reports TOI. Ashwin said Kohli has helped other cricketers when they had to cross the barriers.

Ashwin was the highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded Sri Lanka-India Test series with his 21 wickets in three matches. He broke Harbhajan Singh's record of taking highest wickets in a three-match Test series in Sri Lanka. He said Kohli's trust on his ability worked well for him.  

"I want to be the best in whatever I do. I have reiterated this all the time. Even if I am being a bus conductor or driver I want to be the best in the world. So this particular fact that me and him (Virat) act on similar lines really helps," Ashwin said. "Whenever he hands the ball over, I can be rest assured that I will get what I want and I am always backed. And that's something that's not just between me and him. I think he has done that with everybody in the team. Whoever he has backed, he has backed them and helped them cross barriers."

The Indian team came from behind after losing the first Test match to clinch the series for the first time in Sri Lanka in 22 years and Ashwin was named Man-of-the-Series for his outstanding bowling performance.

The off-spinner slapped the critics which came after winning the series saying India didn't play against a strong Sri Lankan.

Ashwin expressed his unhappiness over it and said: "If you see both the line-ups of the two teams then they were very similar. Both cricket teams had similar number of cricket matches under their belt. So I don't see any reason why you want to take away from the fact that it was a great effort to win a series, coming back from 0-1."

Ishant Sharma was handed over with a one-match ban after the final match for his unnecessary aggressive attitude. Ashwin commented on the same issue by saying the fast bowler will come out stronger.

"I think everybody needs to be who they are. Everybody playing cricket wants to be aggressive. Some people are aggressive from within, some people are more expressive. But whatever happens in life, there needs to be lesson learnt and Ishant was aggressive, he won the Test match for us," he said. 

"No taking away things from him. He might have overstepped the line but that doesn't mean we go overboard and have a go at him. I think he will learn from this experience and I am very confident he will come back being aggressive and being controlled aggressive and win a lot more games for us," he concluded.