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Ashwin ready to take on the Aussies
Seven years after he scored a
double century here as an under-17 opener,
Ravichandran Ashwin is back at his favorite
venue — ADA-VDCA Cricket Stadium — this time to
cement his place as an India off-spinner. Ashwin
had some remarkable performances in the recent
past helping Chennai Super Kings win Champions
League T20 with 13 wickets in six outings,
highest in the tournament. But it was only after
selectors decided to “rest” star off-spinner
Harbhajan Singh for the three-ODI series against
Australia, the Tamil Nadu youngster made the
cut. The 24-year-old feels it’s difficult to be
a spinner vis-à-vis a pace bowler in India but
now that his time has come, he says he is
blessed to be part of the side that will take on
the world number one Australians. “Fast bowlers
do have an edge. India are always in search of
pacers and you get a break immediately after
doing well,” Ashwin told news agencies. Asked
whether it’s difficult to make the cut with
Harbhajan around, Ashwin said: “He has been a
great servant for the Indian cricket. It’s not
about what they are. It’s about what you are and
how you do... It’s always a learning experience
with them.” “India have the tradition of
producing good spinners, so is the case with
batsmen. We have a heap of talented batsmen. So
it’s always competitive getting in there,” he
said.
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“I don’t believe to set any
specific goal. I don’t think by setting goal for
tomorrow, you will have a better today. That’s
not something I believe in. I just love playing
the game and give my best every time I am on the
field,” he said. Studying to be an engineer,
Ashwin said he had happy memories with the DR Y
S Rajasekhara Reddy ADA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in
the outskirts of the city. “After Chennai, Vizag
is just like playing in my backyard. Moreover, I
had a double century in the very first match of
this ground. It was in 2003 during a U-17 match
between Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu.” Asked about
his batting position, the offspinner smiled and
said: “I opened the innings. I am not bad with
the bat either. My ODI average is 38.00.”
