Recently-retired India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed in a chat about the time when he got a pasting from then-India coach Ravi Shastri.
In a podcast with Sky Sports, host Nasser Hussain asked Ashwin about the masterclass with Ian Ward in 2018 where they discussed his variations, including the carrom ball.
“I got a real pasting from Ravi Shastri for doing that masterclass. I’m sure you’ve heard about that from him. I think he had his point but somehow inside me I never felt insecure about it. I think there’s two things in the game, right? One is to be able to deliver what you have and the other is to be able to respond to what you throw down the other end and I always believed and I had the courage to say here’s what I have to dish out,” Ashwin said.
“Let’s see if you’ve got it in you to come at me and very few times I found that the batters have not had the courage to come at me for that and I think it’s all it also plays a very deep mental game. Probably it’s a battle I have in my own head but all that aside I’ve never been shy of sharing what I’ve got because for me every time I shared I found a question inside me so when I shared and I got a question I had this unique capability to be able to take that question on board and find answers for it,” he added.
Ashwin had announced his retirement on December 18, shortly after the third India vs Australia Test match ended in a draw. He retired as the seventh highest wicket-taker in Tests, having taken 765 scalps in all formats in a 14-year career.
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