Ravichandran Ashwin lauds Test skipper Virat Kohli's honesty
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin may be the No. 1 spinner in the national team but his performance in the 2016 IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants was not at par with what is expected from him. Ashwin could manage just 10 wickets in 14 matches, out of which 4 wickets came in his team’s last match of the tournament. However, in an interview with Hindustan Times, the 29-year old said that he did a decent job considering the lesser number of overs he bowled compared to other seasons.
“Personally, I had a good IPL. If you look around at the spinners I think I was one of the most economical at 7.25. I picked up 10 wickets as well for whatever I could create in the game. I bowled far lesser overs compared to the other seasons. I did a decent enough job,” explained Ashwin.
Asked about what went wrong for RPS in their debut season, the Tamil Nadu off-spinner replied, “Many of us were trying to get together as a group and find a brand of cricket we need to be playing. We were playing our home games in Pune for the first half of the season and then played at Vizag. We had to change our game and game plans to a great extent. The injuries didn’t help. Building a franchise and making it a strong team is not just a year’s work. It’s a process which happens over three-four years. I’m sure the franchise owners will find an answer.”
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Ravichandran Ashwin is currently ranked No. 2 in the ICC rankings for Test bowlers and only one point separates him from England's Stuart Broad, who heads the list. “Rankings don’t come into my mind when I go out there and play. I’m really grateful for the fact that I’ve been picked for the West Indies tour squad. I’m just looking forward to a good tour,” said the offie when questioned whether he will look to eclipse Broad on the tour to West Indies.
Ashwin also had praises aplenty about his skipper in the Indian Test team, Virat Kohli. He said, “Virat is a very thorough captain. He does his homework before the game. We do a lot of team meetings before the game, there’s a lot of honesty around. That gives me the confidence and interest while going out on the field. He gives me enough freedom to express myself and take control of what fields I want to set and how I want to bowl.”
The ace spinner was also asked to provide his opinion on the job of Indian coach and whether Rahul Dravid would be a good choice. “It is job that will involve a lot of scrutiny. As players we have the responsibility of working closely with whoever is being given that opportunity. We need to make sure that our goal in one. I would not like to speculate over names,” responded Ravichandran Ashwin.