The ongoing fifth Test between India and England in Dharamsala is a special one for spinner Ravichandran Ashwin as he is playing in the format for the massive 100th time. He had made his Test debut against West Indies in Delhi in November 2011 and after a stellar start to his career, there came a roadblock with England stunning India at home.
Ashwin underperformed in the series picking only 14 wickets in eight innings at an average of 52.64 and a strike-rate of 101.5. He had sent down 236.5 overs, the second most after Pragyan Ojha, in the series and was scrutinised a lot after the loss. Opening up ahead of his 100th Test, Ashwin recalled the tough times when someone at thew Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) had taunted him about getting dropped from the team.
"I still remember leading up to the Border Gavaskar Trophy [just after the England series] what sort of pressure there was on me. Because when I went to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to take match tickets for my family, somebody said, "You are going to be dropped." I remember Parvez Rasool had taken wickets in the side game. Harbhajan Singh was coming back," Ashwin said while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.
However, the 37-year-old understands that as a Test cricketer there will be different phases in career and that's how he dealt with it after the series loss at the hands of England. "I think as a Test cricketer or an international cricketer or somebody at the highest level, ups and downs are a very common thing. How you handle your ups and how you troubleshoot your downs are what will define you as a cricketer or as an individual," the spinner added. Fast forward to 2024, Ashwin has picked up 507 wickets in 99 Tests and will be adding a few more to his tally in the milestone encounter.
