"The greatest lesson I learned....": Ashwin recalls struggle to retain spot after 2012-13 England series loss

Dharamsala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 7 : As he prepares to play his 100th Test, Indian veteran all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin reminisced on a very difficult phase of his career back in 2012-13 following a home series loss to England, when on verge of being dropped, he learnt to exert more pressure on his opposition rather than succumbing to it himself and worked hard on his skills to secure his spot in the team.
India and England will lock horns in the fifth and final Test of the series in Dharamshala from Thursday, which will be Ashwin's 100th Test as well. In 99 Tests so far, Ashwin has taken 507 wickets at an average of 23.91, including 35 five-wicket hauls, with the best bowling figures of 7/59. Combine it with his tally of 3,309 runs in 140 innings at an average of 26.14, with five centuries and 14 fifties and he is one of the most successful all-rounders of the modern era.
The veteran spinner learnt some big lessons following England's Test series win in India back in 2012-13. During the four Test matches of the series, Ashwin took 14 wickets at an average of 52.64 and was outshined by the English spin duo of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. His performance left him feeling vulnerable about his position in the Test squad, questioning his style of play and starting the process of rebuilding it. Since then, Ashwin has been one of the key figures of India's domination at home, which has seen them not lose a series since that painful defeat to England.
Talking about that difficult phase to ESPNCricinfo's The Cricket Monthly, Ashwin said that ups and downs are very common in international cricket and its handling defines one as a player. Ashwin said that he was being told that he could be dropped, with Parvez Rasool doing well and veteran Harbhajan Singh also making a comeback in the game. It was then Ashwin learnt to "play the cards he has been dealt with" and exert more pressure externally rather than letting it overwhelm him, calling these as his "greatest lesson".
"I think as a Test cricketer or an international cricketer or somebody at the highest level, ups and downs are a very common thing. How you handle your ups and how you troubleshoot your downs are what will define you as a cricketer or as an individual," said Ashwin.
"It is not the destination that makes you. It is the journey that made it for me. I still remember leading up to the Border Gavaskar Trophy [just after the England series] what sort of pressure there was on me. Because when I went to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to take match tickets for my family, somebody said, "You are going to be dropped." I remember Parvez Rasool had taken wickets in the side game. Harbhajan Singh was coming back."
"I had played three series before , two at home and one in Australia, and was Player of the Series in two. I found it interesting that I could be dropped, but you cannot go to a casino and have a fight with the dealer because he deals you bad cards. You need to be able to play with the cards he dealt you. The greatest lesson I have learned, and I have followed, is this: I play my hand and I play the man."
"I made it external. For me, there have been a lot of internal battles, but externally I have managed to put pressure on opposition, to take away the pressure that I feel internally. When I say internally, I feel like I am alone in this race, and I am alone in this game. Whatever is said and done, cricket is a team game that is played by 11 individuals. I have made sure if I am under 10 times pressure, I will try and put 50 times pressure on my opposition. So I feel less pressure," he concluded.
Ashwin said that he has always been aware of India's near-invincible record in home conditions, but he never considered it as "his burden to carry". He did not feel pressure as a spinner who is supposed to dominate for India in home conditions because there were other players playing as well, combining together as a team. It was this mindset that helped him work on his skill and solidify his spot in the team.
"Firstly, I think very differently. How rare it is to lose a series in India - that's not my burden to carry. The Indian teams in the past played [those series]. If they lost or won, I have enjoyed it as a fan. I have enjoyed it as a cricketer. But that is not my weight to carry. I never saw it like that," said Ashwin.
"And how important it is as an India spinner, I did not see that either because I am not the only cricketer playing in that series. There are 11 players who played every single match. And when you lose, no one person loses a game. You lose it as a team. And sometimes when you say that in a team meeting or when you talk about it but do not apply it, I find it amusing. These are the beliefs I had. The things that you said didn't cross my mind till today."
Ashwin said that he kept scoring runs with his bat consistently, but had to work on his line, alignment etc while bowling.
"I knew my batting was going all right, so I continued making runs. With the ball, I knew the error I was making. I was getting hit off both back foot and front foot. I was getting cut. I was not hitting the sticker of the bat. When somebody is defending, you must be able to hit the sticker of the bat, you need to get your length right. When I looked to spin the ball to drop the length, I was getting the line wrong and I was getting cut. So clearly my alignment was going all over the place. I realised when I watched the footage that my hip separation was not right. How do I address the hip separation? I went away and I worked," said Ashwin.
"We were playing a corporate trophy for India Cements in Nagpur. I took Sunil Subramanian (his childhood coach) along with me, just to check. I love spot bowling. When I was spot bowling, I figured out that my hip separation was taking my left foot wider. When I brought that distance down, I was very balanced at the crease, and I went into the series and did what I had to do. I changed my action, I corrected it. I did what I had to do," he concluded.
India leads the series 3-1. India and England still have World Test Championship points to gain in Dharamsala, even though the series is decided. India is on top of the World Test Championship standings while England is eighth on the points table.