Indian spin wizard Ravichandran Ashwin is getting geared up for playing 10 Test matches in which India will face Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia within a span of five months.
At the age of 37 and a successful off-spinner for India with 516 scalps in 100 Tests and a career unfolding, Ravichandran Ashwin is likely to sit in the end of the road.
Since he has a lot to give to the young generation of Indian spinners, Ashwin talked about his playing career under three of India’s most successful captains – MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during his conversation with eminent cricket blogger and YouTuber Vimal Kumar.
About MS Dhoni…
”Speaking in the context of the player, there is one thing that I appreciate a lot in Dhoni’s captaincy, it is the stability that a player got. He gave a chance, a long rope. If you fast forward it, Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) or Suresh Raina, he had groomed Jaddu in the finisher’s part and played him till the end in the same role. It worked for India. Today Jaddu is a great all rounder. That if Dhoni backed someone once he had identified, he also provided the backing. I find this very appealing about MS. However, what people say about him, that he remains calm and those things, I don’t really… In fairness, he appears serene.’’
About Virat Kohli…
‘What can be said about Virat, he motivates. He gives an example by doing and achieving it on his own, so he leads by himself. Whatever he demands from the team, he does it first.’
About Rohit Sharma…
“There are like two or three aspects where he is very good. He maintains a very light atmosphere in the team and tries to do so. He’s quite balanced and adheres to many tactics – so were MS and Virat. But Rohit is more into the tactics. He needs to prep up. So if there is a big match or a series coming up he will sit with the analytics team. And coach and prepare something like what’s the batsman’s weakness a bowler’s plan. That’s his strength, and he too backs his players 100 percent.”