After a successful tour of Australia four years ago, R Ashwin silenced his critics, who questioned his ability outside the sub-continent. It kick-started a revival that saw him become the fastest to 300 Test wickets.
On Saturday, the India off-spinner spoke during Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh here about the upcoming tour down under, his game and more.
Excerpts
You have spoken about how your preparations start way earlier before an overseas tour. How ahead do you plan and how do you go about it?
Most of the planning is in terms of what you have learned from your previous tours. It’s all about trying to adapt and learn from what didn’t work last time and be prepared for it. For me, it is not entirely about game time in the middle. I prefer the net time more and train.
What kind of acclimatisation do you focus on?
From my past experience, in Australia it is more about remaining in the best possible physical state. And to an extent, getting the pace right as a spinner. Sometimes you can find yourself bowling too slow or fast, so you have to adapt to different pitches.
We have seen batters leaving early for overseas tours. As a bowler how do you see it and do you also need to go in there early?
Over the last eight to nine years, I played all three formats, which is almost like 12 months of the year. All of a sudden, over the last year, I have played only Test cricket and nothing else.
So I find the game time is very less for me. And you realise it only after four-five months because all of a sudden you are in that position. Whatever game time I get, I try and make use of it, preferably in my own space.
For example, I came here to play Ranji Trophy and bowled 40 overs on a placid deck. It is no comparison to Australia, but at the end of the day it is bowling and finding the rhythm.
Is it India’s best chance to win a series in Australia?
If I say yes, it is going to blow things out of proportion. We had some good chances in England and South Africa and we didn’t put it to bed. We could have very well done it. In Australia, we should bury those things and go out and show what we are capable of.
It is very important to stay balanced and play good cricket.
Although you lost the series in South Africa and England, the margin of defeats, as you said, were narrow. How do you see it as a team because the criticism has been never-ending?
I don’t know what the leadership group feels about it genuinely. They decide on how they want to go about things in the future and how they went about and what they felt are the weak areas. I have enough on my plate to work on. I have my own batting and bowling to look at.
I have also had my challenges with my fitness. So I am very cued up on that. I haven’t had any conversation with regard to this with any of them.
We need to respect how they want to take things forward and just go behind it rather than actually trying to double guess or contribute when it is not required.
