Published: Jul 17, 2016, 12:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 17, 2016, 12:40 PM (IST)
For a bowler, it is as important to get the confidence from the captain and the coach as to practice hard. Ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has enjoyed that confidence from his skipper Virat Kohli, who has immense faith in the tall off-spinner’s abilities. Now with Anil Kumble taking over as the head coach, Ashwin’s job has become a tad more easier, for Kumble himself was a spinner, one of the best ever, and is in the best position to understand the needs of a spinner. ALSO READ: Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan part of ‘Fine Committee’ formed by Anil Kumble.
Before Kumble took over, Ashwin did have a few apprehensions about him as to how the legend must be in person. But the 29-year-old cricketer, who has grown up watching Kumble, was happy to find the iconic cricketer just as he had imagined over the years. “There is a saying that whenever you come too close to a celebrity, you get disappointed but with respect to Anil bhai whatever I have measured of him from a distance have come true,” he told PTI.
Ashwin further said about Kumble, “He is the same man, same discipline, same intensity, it has been wonderful. He brought a lot of energy to the group. You know there is a lot of planning when he is around. These are the things which I had expected from him and this is exactly what he has done.” The offie has also praised Kumble saying that the coach understands the bowlers’ psyche well. ALSO READ: Meet of the legends: Anil Kumble, Courtney Walsh dine together; gorge themselves on Indian food.
“Understanding a bowler’s psyche is a challenge and it is difficult for a batter to understand that. Someone like him understands how the situation is and conditions are, he might give you the right impetus that you need. For example, if you are going well but wickets haven’t fallen, he might be that one hand around your shoulder saying this is exactly what we want you to keep doing,” said Ashwin. ALSO READ: Muttiah Muralitharan hails Ravichandran Ashwin as the ‘best Test spinner’.
Ashwin concluded by sharing how he looks forward to taking a leaf out of Kumble’s book. “So far he has provided me with a lot of confidence and responsibility. It has been more of giving me the licence to express myself which I really relish but both of us need time to start knowing each other. He had an open chat and he has already told me what he is going to look forward from me and I have told him what I look forward from him. He has already started bowling at the nets and I can pick out some notes from it.”
Ashwin will be a vital cog in India’s Test-heavy 2016-17 season. For now, he has his task cut out as he will look to improve his away record when India start their series against West Indies with first Test from July 21.
