Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s senior off-spinner, thought his career was ended owing to a chronic knee ailment not long ago. The 36-year-old had even told his wife, Prithi Narayanan, that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023 might be his final.
Ashwin claimed that he is quite happy with what he has accomplished in his life, not because of wickets or runs, but because of his ability to constantly reinvent himself.
Insecurity, according to the famed spin magician, is a huge issue for cricketers as they mature.
Furthermore, Ashwin stated that it is how cricketers become caught as they grow older and more experienced; one wants to hold something so tightly that they end up breaking their own.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve done in my life not just because of wickets or runs. But how consistently I have been to able to reinvent myself. One thing that really plagues cricketers or anybody as they grow old is insecurity. For me, it’s how cricketers get locked when they get older and when they get experienced; you want to hold on to something so tight, that you eventually end up breaking your own neck,”
Ashwin told The Indian Express.
Ashwin revealed that after he returned from the Bangladesh series, he told his wife that the home series against Australia would be his last. The 36-year-old also revealed that he told her that he intended to change his action because it accumulated a lot of velocity, causing his knee to collapse somewhat when he landed.
“When I came back from Bangladesh, I told my wife that the Australia series could become my last series. I used to have some knee issues. I told I am going to change my action because it really got a lot of momentum and with that when I was landing, my knee was buckling a little bit. I hadn’t done enough workload because of the T20 World Cup but I was not just not happy with the way the ball was coming, it was just scrambling a little bit here,”
Ashwin added.
Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin stated that his knee was hurting and swelling up by the second Test in Bangladesh. Furthermore, he stated that he had bowled exceptionally well for the previous three or four years and that not bowling would be a very foolish and idiotic action. So, he decided to alter his technique to reduce the knee pain, and it worked.
The number one Test bowler went on to claim that he went to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore to rehabilitate from his ailment.
Following that, the Indian spinner began bowling, which alleviated his knee pain, and practised for three to four days in Nagpur before entering the Test match having never bowled before.
Furthermore, Ravichandran Ashwin highlighted his delight at winning the Player of the Series title, describing it as one of the best series he has ever played in the previous four to five years.
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