Ravichandran Ashwin recently admitted that he had to alter his bowling motion last December out of fear that he would have to retire early from international cricket.
For a very long time, Ashwin has been dealing with a bothersome knee injury.
He claimed that it started to swell during the second Test against Bangladesh, at which he decided to abandon the move that had brought him great success for about five years.
Ravichandran Ashwin once said, “I don’t think there can be a greater challenge in life.”
In an interview with The Indian Express, Ashwin said, “When I returned from Bangladesh, I told my wife that the Australia series might be my last series.”
“I once experienced some knee problems. I told her that I was going to change my action. It had gained a lot of momentum. As a result, my knee had buckled slightly as I was landing.”
He continued, “It really started to swell up. I’ve been bowling really well for three to four years. So how do I change my action? That has to be the silliest and most ridiculous thing I could possibly do.”
“Listen, there’s a lot of load on the knee; it’s time to change. I’m going to go back to my action that used to bowl in 2013–14.”
Before the first Test against Australia, Ashwin claimed he received injections and only practiced the new action for three to four days.
He did not participate in any match practice following the modification.
“I didn’t even feel like a bowler for three to four overs on the first day of the Test. But I was still able to continue because of my awareness”, he said.
There was no performance difference from the off-spinner, who won Player of the Series after taking 25 wickets at an average of 17 points in four Tests.
The fact that Ashwin had the guts to aim higher than 15 or 16 wickets made him proud of himself, he said.
He asserted that by accepting the greatest challenge a bowler could face, he put his career at risk.
While playing for Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, Ashwin was not chosen for the WTC Final against Australia.
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