Ravichandran Ashwin made a name for himself under the leadership of MS Dhoni. As soon as Ashwin started playing for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL, Dhoni immediately saw the spark in him. In a very short period, Ashwin became Dhoni’s trump card and the leader of CSK’s bowling attack.

In a chat with Sportskeeda, Ashwin opened up about how Dhoni always backed him. Ashwin admitted that even tough Dhoni always talks about the process as captain he still keeps all his secrets to himself.

Dhoni always encouraged me to do new things – Ashwin

Whether it be while playing for CSK or the Indian team Dhoni has always encouraged Ashwin to try new things and work on his variations. Incidentally, after MS Dhoni stepped down from the captaincy, Ashwin gradually lost his place in the limited-overs. 

The off-spinner said, “This is a story a lot of people might not associate with MS Dhoni but I’d like to bring this to the surface. Many times, when people question MS Dhoni about how he does it, he talks about the process and doesn’t divulge a lot of his secrets”. But the one person that has encouraged me day-in-day-out in terms of trying new things is MS Dhoni.”

He added, “He saw that streak in me early on, for both CSK and India. People always say that I try too much and experiment too much. I’ve also questioned myself and MS Dhoni has constantly told me that my biggest strength is that I can bowl anything. He said that at the end of the day, I’m bloody good at what I do.”

Meanwhile, Ashwin is still the leading wicket-taker for CSK in the IPL. Earlier this year the successful spinner was traded to Delhi Capitals from Kings XI Punjab franchise. He will be seen representing Delhi Capitals in the T20 league which will be held in UAE. IPL 2020 is all set to take place from September 19- November 8 for the second time in the gulf of UAE.