Being Ravichandran Ashwin isn’t easy. It is not even remote to ‘easy.’ No matter how many wickets he takes all across the globe, there always appear to be people waiting to criticize him for his below-par overseas performances and non-agile fielding.
But ashwin has never taken that criticism to heart. Infact, he has clarified that he doesn’t care about keyboard warriors. So, what in heaven made a tough guy like him ponder retirement during the phase between 2018-2020?
“I felt like a lot of people were backed, so why not me?”- Ravichandran Ashwin
It appears that india’s greatest off-spinner of all time was facing some serious fitness issues during late 2018 to 2020 phase. He was fighting a battle against his towering body. Interestingly, things were so complex that he would not be able to bowl more than six balls sans running out of breath.
“Between 2018 and 2020, I contemplated giving up the sport at various points. I thought that I had put in a lot of effort, but it is not coming through. Harder I tried, the farther it felt. Especially with athletic pubalgia and patellar tendonitis- I used to bowl six balls, and then- I used to be gasping for breath and there would be pain all over the place,” quotes Ravichandran while reminiscing his body’s fragile state back then.
Now then. It was clear to him that his body was fragile. He was suffering excruciating muscle pain throughout his body. In addition, Patellar Tendonitis a.k.a. Jumper’s knee is a very precarious condition. It is an injury which helps in damages the tissue which connects the knee cap to the patellar tendon. One can not stretch your legs if one suffers from this.
Somehow, the management and the team didn’t care about it too much. Here’s how Ravi Ashwin fee towards it: “I contemplated retirement for a lot of reasons. I felt like people were not sensitive enough to my injuries. I felt like a lot of people were backed, why not me? I have done no less. I have won a lot of games for the team, and I am not feeling backed,” said Ashwin.
The 34-year-old indian test veteran minutely mentions the lack of team’s backing. Nevertheless, he mentions it. He also talked about how his father and wife were the only people he could lean onto. No one in the team offered him a shoulder of support during his low phase.
“The only person I would be talking to was my wife. My father was hell-bent: you’ll make a comeback in white-ball cricket. I will see that before I die. For him it was more personal,” added Ravi.
Now what is the “low phase” he is referring to? England tour of 2018 and the following tour Down Under. Ashwin managed 7 wickets in the 1st game against England but in following three matches, he could add only four. Hanuma Vihari had later him. Then during India’s tour Down Under- He missed three games due to an abdominal injury. Kuldeep replaced him and bagged a five-for. Vihari was amongst runs. Ravi felt sidelined.
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But his father’s emotions kept him pushing. Kept him pushing for good as he eventually made T20I comeback during T20 WC 2021. He is above Yuzi Chahal and Rahul Chahar in the pecking order now.
It is only a matter of time before he becomes the primary spinner of India’s LOI setup and when that happens, Ravichandran Ashwin’s story would have come full circle. From getting axed from LOIs and not being backed in tests to being the leading wicket taker in 2019-2021 WTC cycle and re-emerging as India’s premier LOI spinner… It’ll be a story for the history books.