Ravichandran Ashwin is a thinking cricketer, someone who is always looking to improve and find ways to expand his repertoire. Ashwin started his journey in international cricket at the beginning of the previous decade, a time when India were in the middle of a golden phase. Ashwin was part of the teams that won the 2011 ICC World Cup and the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and reached the final of the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup.
He soon became an integral part of the Test team and went on to become the biggest match winner with the ball in cricket's longest format for India since the end of Anil Kumble's glittering career.
Ashwin recently went past Kapil Dev's tally in Test cricket to become India's second highest wicket taker in the format. But this growth has been made possible because of his ability to keep evolving and it was an advice from a former India coach that might just have shown a young Ashwin the way ahead.
"It's been a journey; I have made lot of mistakes. Years ago, we had this head coach Duncan Fletcher and I would go and ask him, how do I improve this, how do I improve that, how do I get better? He said 'only way you get better is by making mistakes and failing in front of people.'
"That's what I have done all my life. I have received a lot of criticism from people on how I have tried to expand beyond the realms. Sometimes people may feel, 'Why the hell is he doing such things? Is he over ambitious, is he trying to do too much?' But that's just me, if you try to take that out of me you won't get this person. So, I come with a lot of problems. If I am utilised and given the form of expression I require, I think I can explore boundaries," he said as reported by news agency PTI.
Ashwin is part of the Rajasthan Royals team this season and along with Yuzvendra Chahal, helped the team reach the playoffs of IPL 2022.
(With inputs from PTI)