'There were talks of me getting dropped': R Ashwin reveals 'turning point' of his career ahead of monumental 100th Test
R Ashwin admitted the 2012 Test series vs England was a turning point of his career but it also helped him improve his game from there.
Ace India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin opened up on the big turning point of his career which also helped him improve his game. Ashwin is set to play his 100th Test game in Dharamsala as the 37-year-old faced several ups and downs in his illustrious career but he remained a constant in India's red-ball set-up for over a decade. The veteran spinner recently completed his 500th Test wicket in the third match of the series.
He will become the 14th Indian to play 100 Test matches as he will enter the match with high morale after picking up a fifer in the last match at Ranchi.
Ashwin, who made his Test debut in 2011, faced criticism for his below-par performance in the 2012 Test series against England which was the last time India suffered a series defeat at home soil in the longest format.
The 37-year-old claimed 14 wickets in 4 Tests - fourth highest in that series, however, his average was quite poor - 52.64 and he turned out to be expensive against the likes of Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen. He conceded 737 runs in four tests with the best figures of 3/80.
Ashwin admitted it was a turning point of his career but it also helped him improve his game from there.
"That series vs England at home, where Cook and Pietersen scored runs. Can well be the turning point for me. There were talks of me getting dropped. It was a wonderful lesson for me to improve say 5%. I knew what I had to correct. Since then, it was addressing downs," Ashwin said in the press conference ahead of the fifth Test against Dharamsala.
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Meanwhile, he rated his performance against England in Birmingham on the 2018 tour as one of the best as he picked up seven wickets in that match.
"One of my finest spells in Test cricket has to be 2018-19 in Birmingham," the ace spinner replied.
The 37-year-old also recalled the under-19 days when he played in Dharamsala as he asserted that it would be a bit tricky for him in the cold weather as a finger spinner.
“21 years ago, I was here playing u19 cricket for two months. It is pretty cold, will take more time for fingers to adjust. That’s the beauty of it, the unknown,” he said.
