Before the Indian team’s departure, Test captain Virat Kohli spoke about working in unison and stressed on the importance of taking twenty wickets to win a Test match. It is a given that Kohli is a fan of playing five bowlers and even hinted on playing all three spinners in the eleven in Sri Lanka.
He was of the view that the bowlers needed to complement each other for the team’s success and off-spinner R Ashwin found himself on the same page as his captain. “I think complementing each other as a bowling unit is of paramount importance,” Ashwin said. “Like in any team, if everybody does their job to perfection, then the team is going to be a great team. There is no doubting that. In a team environment you always chip in for each other. Especially when you are travelling abroad, if the fast bowling attack is taking the bulk of the responsibility, then the spinners’ job becomes that much easier. A spinner’s success is the following of a good fast bowling attack.
“It is a question of working together and it is in the process of getting to a stage where we get a good bowling unit. We have actually not been getting a strong pipeline of five bowlers who will be playing for a longer period of time. It will take some time and it will be fine,” elaborated Ashwin.
Speaking about his know-how on the conditions in Sri Lanka, Ashwin said, “I think the pitches will be very different. It is not the same as what it is in India from whatever I have seen. You can’t go with any pre conceived notions about what the pitch is going to be like and how you are going to play. I have played in a few places there and from whatever experience I have had in Sri Lanka, I know that the pitches there tend to have good bounce.
“The way the Pakistan spinners have bowled, we could take a leaf out of it, but it is going to be different. Yasir Shah is a wrist spinner and I am an off-spinner, so I will have to go there and find out. I basically rely on my own perception rather than anybody else’s. It is about adapting to the particular situation and trying and changing your game according to what the pitch and the situation has to offer.”
Ashwin was also confident of his preparations ahead of the series having had some time off the field and getting a couple of club games under his belt. “I always prepare for all the series mentally and with regards to skill if there is anything that needs to be topped up. This time, I have tried to keep my skill practice as little as possible. I got to play a couple of club games here and that has been the practice as far as it is concerned. I have topped up on my training and done other things to try and take my mind away from the game. That is basically the best preparation I can get.”
When asked if his bowling form away from home was a point of concern at all, Ashwin said, “I felt all though Australia that I was bowling brilliantly. In a couple of Test matches I got about five or six wickets and that was a good enough sign. To actually go on and get five wickets or six wickets, the game needs to pan out abroad. You need a good fourth innings or a third innings where the ball starts jumping. All these things need to pan out over a period of time. I am not too worried about it, I am just really happy the way the ball is coming out of my hand at this point of time.”
With Kohli hinting at playing five bowlers and all three spinners in eleven, it would be an exciting prospect to see two off-spinners bowling in tandem along with a leg spinner in Amit Mishra. Comparisons between the two off-spinners are bound to be made, but Ashwin believed Harbhajan Singh and himself were two very different bowlers with their own individual skill sets.
“Harbhajan Singh is very experienced and he knows what he is doing. We have different strengths and we are very different bowlers. If I can do my job to my potential, the way I have been doing then I will be very happy with myself. As long as I can offer the best to my team, I should be happy,” Ashwin said.
Bowling aside, he also felt the lower-order chipping in with the bat would be crucial in the outcome of a match. “The lower order performing is very critical to any team’s performance. It is all about taking responsibility. The number tens and number elevens of every Test team is chipping in and getting 25-30 runs. It is very important because you flatten out the opposition and sometimes it is these crucial runs that can get you to victories. We are working on it, how it pans out is something we have to wait and see.”
The Test series in Sri Lanka will be a farewell series for one of Sri Lanka’s greats Kumar Sangakkara. Quite obviously, Ashwin had nothing but words of praise for the wicketkeeper batsman. “He is a legend of the game and it is going to be wonderful to be a part of that game itself.
Sangakkara puts a high price on his wicket. When you get Sanga out once, he makes sure and tries his best not to get out to the same bowler again. That is the kind of price he puts on his wicket. He is technically very sound and he is a great player.”
