After Record 33rd Five-For, Ashwin Opens Up On Pain Of Missing WTC Final

India veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was left out of the playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) final last month, which the Rohit Sharma-side lost to Australia. Considering the overcast conditions at The Oval last month, India made the tough call of leaving out Ashwin from the playing eleven for an extra pacer. The decision was widely debated before India came up short in their second successive WTC final. After bagging his 33rd five-wicket haul on Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies, Ashwin said it was tough not to play in the final.

"I've spoken about it. It's very tough as a cricketer when you have a shot at the WTC final and end up sitting out. But what is the difference between me and another person if I also end up sulking in the dressing room.

"When we went to the WTC final, I was mentally prepared to play. I had prepared physically and mentally, planned for the game, everything. But, I was also prepared to not play the game.

"If I'm not playing, how do I respond? How do I make sure the dressing room is really up and about. Winning the WTC final is the most important thing, it could be a very high point in my career and I would have played a good role in it. It was just unfortunate, it didn't pan out. The first day just left us too much behind in the shed.

"All I'd like to give to my teammates and Indian cricket as a whole is some understanding and my best efforts on the field and I'd like to leave it at that," he said.

It is not about wickets or runs, it is about the memories

Ashwin is at the peak of his powers 14 years into international cricket but, looking back, he is amazed how the time has flown by. He is at a stage where making memories is more important than getting wickets for the team.

"It's been literally 14 years on the go and if you include IPL also, it's been almost a 15-16 years journey. It's just gone like that. All I would tell anybody is... the first time I met Rahul Dravid as a coach, he made this statement: 'It's not about how many wickets you take, how many runs you score. You'll forget about all of them. It is only the great memories you create as a team that'll stick with you.' "I'm totally behind that. I don't know if he's brainwashed me to do that. From my point of view, I definitely think that this journey has gone so fast that I'm not even able to recollect what has happened, and how it has gone through.

"I've got a lot of gratitude and I'm very grateful for the journey and what the game has given to me. I don't know how many more such moments will come to me, but whatever comes my way, I'll try to enjoy it completely." The COVID-19 pandemic also changed his outlook towards life and the game.

"After Covid when cricket began again, I promised myself that I'll enjoy whatever happens... whether I'm playing, getting dropped or if I'm retiring. Whatever happens, I will enjoy it," he said.

Enjoyed the bounce on offer

Ashwin, who was introduced into the attack as early as the ninth over, made full use of the bounce on offer at Windsor Park. The West Indies batters offered little resistance and Ashwin was too good for them.

"There was some bounce from the wicket, especially from the pavilion end. The wicket had some slope also which gave us bounce. But we utilised the first session very well. The wicket had some moisture and it was coming off it very well.

"As you saw, they showed a graphic that it was turning more (in the second session), but the turn was very slow. But in the first session, there was bounce, and pace off was good, there was bite. We utilised it very well," he added.

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