File photo of Rishabh Pant (far left) with R Ashwin (far right).
India's Test spinner Ravichandran Ashwin enjoyed a strong start to his season at home with 32 wickets in four Tests against England that ended 3-1 in India's favour.
The bowler also shone with the bat with a notable century at his home turf in Chennai with other star batsmen from both sides failing to put runs on the board.
Ashwin, however, didn't enjoy much success with his Decision Review System (DRS) calls as the spinner and skipper Virat Kohli were more often than not spot on with their review decisions throughout the Test.
The spinner admitted that his DRS calls were not upto the mark, especially on his return to Indian surfaces after a hard-fought series in Australia.
“I think we need to change the lens with which people are looking at me for the DRS," Ashwin told India Today. “Before this series against England, my DRS (usage) was extremely good. Because you take the DRS, you need to rely on the keeper's resources. I ask valid questions in terms of saying 'I know whether the ball struck in line or not’.
He further pointed the gun at Rishabh Pant, who enjoyed a lot of success with the bat but his wicket-keeping qualities, apparently, are still not as good as his batting.
"But with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help. And Rishabh is actually letting me down, on a lot of occasions. I took him aside and said we need to sit down and discuss because Ravi Bhai has a few complaints about me going for DRS," he said.
Ashwin further vowed he will work to make better DRS calls in the future series.
“So honestly, yeah, if there is one improvement I am looking to make, I will go for better DRS in the future series. I will hold myself in check and we have been playing on red-soil pitches after a long time. It plays a huge role," he said.
