Ashwin positive about delivering the goods

The Chennai-based slow bowler carried the momentum into the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, helping his state team Tamil Nadu go the distance. In the domestic T20 competition, the 30-year-old bagged 10 scalps from eight games and finished as the joint-top wicket-taker for Tamil Nadu alongside pacer M Mohammed. In good rhythm heading into the 14th edition of IPL on home soil, Ashwin is optimistic about delivering the goods once again. While talking to DT Next from PBKS’s pre-season base Mumbai, the leggie spoke about his personal preparation, partnership with rookie Ravi Bishnoi and the experience of playing under the Anil Kumble-KL Rahul duo. 

I am really confident. All of us have been playing white-ball cricket for some time now. Post IPL 2020 that was hosted only a few months back, we had two domestic tournaments – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. I managed to win the SMAT title with Tamil Nadu. During SMAT, I got to play in Ahmedabad, which will be a venue for this season’s IPL. So, it has been good in terms of preparation. 

After the Vijay Hazare Trophy, we had a few weeks off. I took time to work on my fitness because IPL is going to be pretty intense. I also looked back at my last year’s performances with the help of videos. I then prepared myself based on what I need to do skill wise in both batting and bowling. 

It is good to bowl in tandem with Ravi. He is a young guy and has got a lot of talent. It is important for us to communicate well. During matches, we discuss about the kind of deliveries and lengths that need to be bowled. I am enjoying my partnership with him. We did reasonably well last year. Hopefully, we can continue to do the same this year too. 

It is a dream for any leg-spinner to work under the guidance of Anil sir. I grew up watching him play. I managed to learn a lot by watching him. Last year, I had a great opportunity and I interacted a lot with him. That helped me strategise and prepare better for games. We discussed a lot of things that really helped me become better. I look forward to spending time with him this year as well. 

KL and I share a very good rapport as we are from the same age group. He is calm and has got good clarity. He is precise while giving instructions. It is good to have a captain like KL who is approachable. If at all I have any doubts, I just go up to him and ask those. He led our side really well in last year’s IPL.