Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin.
Last updated on November 21, 2024.
Ravichandran Ashwin is an Indian international cricketer. An all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm off-break, he plays for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket and Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. He is the fastest Indian bowler to reach the 50-, 100-, 150-, 200-, 250-, 300-, 350- and 400-wicket mark in Test cricket in terms of number of innings. In 2016, he became the third Indian to win the ICC Cricketer of the Year award. Considered to be one of the best spin bowlers of his generation, he is currently the highest-ranked spinner in Test cricket, and the highest-ranked Test bowler for India on the ICC Player Rankings. He has won nine Man of the Series awards in Test cricket, which is the highest by an Indian cricketer. He mostly bats at 9 as a finisher in limited-overs format and a late middle order batsman in Test cricket.
Giving a point to a team that has not conceded an outright win is not that great an idea. When an outright result cannot be reached, the points should be shared between the two teams.
To be very modest about what is happening in my life and my career over the last couple of years, I did not know if I would go on to play Test cricket when we were in the pandemic, in the lockdown.
I used to bowl a lot of seam-up for Tamil Nadu and then my pelvic disc slipped. Then I just started batting, I didn't want to bowl at all. I wanted to do nothing with bowling.
I am not usually fussy about food but sometimes on overseas tours if I get bored I take a cooker and some rice and enjoy some curd rice.
Parents need to realise that cricket now offers a decent standard of living and earning potential, and not just for international cricketers. They need to stop thinking they are taking a huge gamble with their child's life if they let a child pursue sport as career.
Whatever happens in the lower body is in direct relation to what is happening in the upper body, as far as bowling is concerned.
Numbers are not important. Muttiah Muralitharan is a legend with 800 wickets. I don't even know if I can play the number of matches he has played. It was nice to get noticed but frankly numbers don't attract me much.
As a spinner, you need to be very precise in Australia. Every run you give must be on your own terms.
Once cricket is seen as a possible profession, a youngster's life can be so altered that cricket becomes second nature to him.
I think initially people never gave spinners a chance. They thought spinners will just be hammered all over the park.
If I feel like I am being thrown under the bus, how am I supposed to get up and come for a party to enjoy the team's or team-mate's success?
There are many people who believe in me and have backed me. I owe it to them - and not just to myself - to succeed when I step onto the field.
What mistake all of us make when we are talking about a particular cricketer is that we say they are trying too much, the control is not there, there is no patience. These are cliched terms.
Honestly I don't listen to lot of English music. I listen to lot of Bollywood music and my favourite singer is Shoaib Bhushan and my favourite musician is from down south is AR Rahman.
So whenever Marnus Labuschagne steps out, he hits the ball over cow corner for an offspinner, or he hits it over mid-off. It's very rare through long-on. And he doesn't have a flat sweep, he has a lap sweep, like a paddle.
The bowler wants to win the game. The batsman needs to bat well to get runs. No question about it.
Spinners are increasingly starting to bowl short, which means they are taking the straight boundaries away. When you play Test match cricket, you can't bowl short.
I am thrilled to be a part of the Delhi Capitals. A new team always brings up different challenges.
Adaptability is one of the biggest strengths that I have. To make decisions on the field, try and convince my captain to change fields, try and make him give that extra couple of overs.
Between 2018 and 2020, I contemplated giving up the sport at various points.
At 10 o'clock every night, I take my dogs for a walk. And sometimes people do see me on the road. I actually don't bother a lot about what people think about what I am doing.
I won't say if nerd is the right term, but I'm a big, big cricket fanatic. I just cannot stop thinking, talking cricket. I do carry notebooks and make notes to look at improving and developing my own game.
At the end of the day, however big or whatever I have achieved, if I am not able to enjoy what I really enjoy, then there is no point having this life.
There was a time when I was studying in school when one of my coaches clearly told me I shouldn't be bowling at selection trials. We had a couple of off spinners from our own school and he said that if I bowled off spin, their chances would get affected. So, I didn't really bowl at the trials till I was in my late teens.
At one stage, I just wanted to play one Test for India. People used to say I was just a T20 bowler, a limited-overs bowler. All these tag lines were doing the rounds but I did want to make a difference.
The mindset in India is to get an education that will secure a job, and then think about how to get a particular salary. We're used to that kind of a life, and that's how we bring up our children.
I felt only mad people succeed in life and if you're mad about something and believe in something, you will come out on top.
I have always enjoyed my cricket, be it home or abroad.
It is possible to get a degree in Engineering by merely passing the exams and not really learning the concepts in depth, and also get a job based on that degree. Similarly, a cricketer can waste the opportunities in the nets and in training, and with some talent still play professional cricket.
I did give leg-spin a try as well. I used to play a lot of under-arm cricket in the streets of Chennai. I can spin the legbreak a mile. But when I tried it, a lot of people discouraged me saying it was very difficult.
Towards the end of the careers, senior cricketers may play only Tests. This means they'll be available for Ranji matches.
Sometimes when you listen to me on the field, or when you listen to me on the morning of the game, you'd think I am an idiot. I can completely empathise with those who might think so.
I am a very sensitive person, especially when it comes to heart-to-heart conversations. I am straightforward and I expect the same from people.
My favourite movie is '3 Idiots'. It's a Hindi movie and I also have a great collection of Hollywood movies and my favourite movie is 'Vertical Limit.'
I have to thank batting coach Sanjay Bangar for providing valuable inputs. He gave me honest feedback about how poorly I was batting and what were the aspects I needed to focus on.
I started the game, in the nets, I used to be a little sceptical. When I bowled, the balance of the ball was a lot different to the red ball.
I'm able to make out the difference in my cricket since I started studying engineering. I can't explain how or why, but once I've started to do engineering my cricket has gone up by leaps and bounds.
I don't know if I would have made a better engineer than a cricketer. I definitely think I am a much better cricketer.
Especially with athletic pubalgia and the patellar tendonitis - I used to bowl six balls and then I used to be gasping for breath. And there would be pain all over the place.
Since I started playing, I always wanted to pose a threat to the batsmen, so I always kept evolving.
Whether it is my return to Test or not, I have always bowled with heart and soul. A good performance always spurs you on.
When I was playing Under-14s I had a bit of a problem with a pelvic slip disc. That left me bed-ridden for about six weeks.
I'm actually fighting my own benchmarks in a lot of ways. The number of games that I've managed to win for my country and for myself, the number of successes I've had and the excellence I've shown is always measured up in equal parlance when I travel away from the country, which is great.
I wanted to make myself the most valuable player by making my presence felt at the decisive moments.
For me to able to deliver on a consistent basis abroad there are a lot of factors beyond just me that need to go into it.
You cannot judge a team accurately on the basis of the first-innings leads they have secured.
When you turn up at a ground, you expect the wicket to behave in a certain fashion and it doesn't. There are so many variables in this game. It becomes even more important when it comes to T20 cricket.
As far as I'm concerned, I bowl at other team batsmen not at Indian batters.
I think the most complete performance has to be the spell I bowled in Bangladesh. In Fatullah. That was one heck of a spell. Bowled over a period of two days, maybe a bit more. That was a delight.
When you're in form you're happy and want to go out there and play everyday. It's like that with studying. Once you learn something and develop your thinking, you want to study more.
Whenever I've gone out there, like every batsman wants to get a hundred, my aim is to get a five-wicket haul.
Even if I've studied all there is to study, I get a nervous and twitchy feeling before the exam. Till I get the question paper I'm nervous. This somehow gives me a little bit extra when I'm on the field. I'm able to make decisions on the field just a bit quicker.