Published: Mar 05, 2015, 12:43 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 09, 2015, 01:43 PM (IST)
Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s spin spearhead, talks about his team’s ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 match against the West Indies on Friday.
Q: After those wickets, how happy are you about this wicket? And what will your approach be against West Indies?
Ravichandran Ashwin (RA): I’m pleased. It is quite heartening to get wickets. It is always good to perform well. It gives you a lot of confidence. In terms of preparation for the game, it’s going to be the same. Because we prepare for every other team like we prepare for the big teams. It’s not going to be very different. We’re pretty confident about executing tomorrow.
Q: Just after what’s happened the last two days, what is your personal opinion just on media in general?
RA: Media here are here to support us. It’s very heartening to see the media turn up in so many huge numbers and try to support us. I mean, this is my take on it. I think the media has a responsible way of taking cricket back home in a responsible fashion, taking cricket to the public in the way it needs to be taken. There are times when I’m not happy with that, but that’s my opinion. But there are other times when you support the players and it’s very important to take the game forward.
Q: Just wanted to know, coming into the World Cup, what were your thoughts? Do you think you’re bowling at your best at the moment?
RA: I think my journey as a bowler in international cricket has been one heck of a big learning curve. There are times when you think you’re bowling really well and you end up learning even more in that particular phase, so you can’t really say you’re bowling at your best. There have been times before when I thought I’m bowling at my best, but immediately like in 10 months or a year’s time I always found there is another gear to go up. You never know with this game. If you’re open to learning, I think the summit is very high, so you never know.
Q: Do you think that whatever happened yesterday should be forgotten by everybody?
RA: Honestly, I do not know what’s happened. It’s definitely not in my jurisdiction. I’m very honest about it. Having said that going forward in tomorrow’s game, I think we’ll give it the best and see how it goes.
Q: What has been the plan about dealing with batting threats like Chris Gayle?
RA: It’s not just Chris Gayle; it’s any other batsman in world cricket. Anybody who attacks wants to put you off your hook. It’s similar. I’m content to look at the wicket and I go strongly for getting wickets off any batsman that I think is dangerous because I like it. I like to throw myself in the middle and try to see how much I can make an impact in that particular game. Be it Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers anybody. I look to get them out in the middle. Once you get them out, the game is going to clear the way. No particular plans. I mean, it’s pretty simple. You’ve got to restrict to hitting to one side of the grounds because you have three fielders and maximize those particular three fielders and try to see how much you can restrict the hitting to that side. If there are pockets that open up and there are times you feel you can attack, and batting is a very good time to attack because you don’t get a lot of singles. It’s pretty much about boundaries and wickets, and you can restrict the hitting to one side and see if you can get a wicket or two.
Q: Anil Kumble said recently, “I sometimes see Ashwin and see myself in him, when he’s bowling, batting.” What’s your response to having something like that said about you?
RA: I started bowling spin pretty late in my career. I was more of a batsman until the 1990s.There have been times where I was really mocked around for my action. Skill-wise, I think there are a lot of people that you can admire all throughout your career, and as young as you are, you might not know about it. But I’ve always maintained that Kumble is one of my big heroes because every time he’s been put in the corner he’s come out really successful. That is one aspect I really admire about him. And there have been times people have asked me who is your role model and I actually told them Kumble is one of my role models. To actually hear that from him is a big honor. At the same time, it’s a big boot to fill in. It’s not as easy as he made it sound, but I’m really pleased for it.
Q: Do you consider fortunate how much the contribution of the bowlers allowed you to bowl the way you want?
RA: I think it’s huge in the sense if you get a couple of wickets upfront, then the entire game turns on its head. As far as the spinner is concerned, when I come in, I’ve got that little bit more freedom. Having said that, I just made up my mind that I’m going to bowl this way the entire tournament. There are times when I prepare for such big tournaments as to what I’m going to be doing. Come what may, I’ll try to execute it, and that is one of the reasons that I’ve come out to express myself in any of these major tournaments. I like the big stage, and I like to assume I like to do it my own way.
Q: Does it depend on your confidence that day or the type of wicket you’re bowling on?
RA: For me, most of my bowling is up in my head. It’s very mental as far as I’m concerned. If there is an a approach to be taken in any big tournaments, if you look around yourself if the new team outside your team, you always see a lot of insecurities, and I try to capitalize on insecurities about the crickets as much as I’m insecure, they’re also insecure. For me, I love the game more than anything else. When I go out to play the game, I tell myself if I excel, I excel. If I don’t excel, I don’t want to exist in a normal beat. You know what I mean? I don’t want to be there with someone else. If I excel, I excel.
Q: Ravi Shastri said the tri-series was a waste of time. Do you agree with that? It’s been quite a long tour for you guys. How do you feel leading into the World Cup?
RA: You know, it’s very hard to take up on opinions because he said it’s a waste of time. And if I say it’s not a waste of time, that’s going to be a contradiction. So that’s not the route I’m going to be taking. I think exactly what he meant was to say it was draining on his boys. I think he was fair enough in saying that. And we play cricket all 12 months a year, and there are times you feel really low and it’s hard to pick yourself up and that was one of those times and he was very clear in expressing that I thought.
Q: With three wins from three now, what shape are India in?
RA: I don’t think we’re there. There are three games and Ireland’s also played good cricket. We’re pretty aware of what’s happening around us in the group. It’s very important that we take it one game at a time. It’s not just even going into the quarters and semis. It’s going to be the biggest game that’s going to get you through to the finals, semis or whatever it is. We like to treat every game like it’s a knockout game so that it propels us in a good state.
Courtesy: ICC
