Ravichandran Ashwin stated that he will regret not choosing to bat as a career because there are “different yardsticks” to measure a bowler’s and a batter’s success.
Ashwin concurred with Sunil Gavaskar when he questioned whether India would have benched Ashwin in the WTC Final against Australia instead of an ICC top-ranked batter.
Ashwin explained in an interview with The Indian Express that despite being “such a fine batter”.
He decided to play off-spin after watching Indian bowlers struggle in a series against Sri Lanka and leak any runs Sachin Tendulkar used to score.
Maybe I shouldn’t have become a bowler after being such a good batter: Ashwin
However, Ashwin continued, “The first thing I will regret when I hang up my boots tomorrow is having been such a fine batter. I should have never become a bowler.”
“There are different standards for batters and bowlers, despite my best efforts to alter this perception.”
“Additionally, there are various forms of treatment. I am aware that the batter is playing a one-ball game and needs the chance,” Ashwin said.
“The need for a batter doesn’t change, despite the fact that you can see a batsman struggle in the game and in the nets”, in my opinion.
“The game still only involves one ball. I’m not saying the batter shouldn’t participate. He should participate, and the bowler should do the same”, the speaker continued.
Ashwin, who has five test centuries, continued by saying that he knew going into his Indian debut that he would only be given “two Test matches” to fail.
Ashwin on receiving encouragement from pundits: “I felt happy they thought I was good enough to play.”
When he was let go from the team, Ashwin continued, “I was happy to see the support from many former cricketers. But my focus was only on helping the team as much as I could.”
“I’m 36 years old, and I can honestly say that what makes you happy changes over time.”
“Yeah, every time I receive a text message from a former senior cricket player. I always get excited and reply right away.”
“But the truth is that I was unable to secure a chance or the world championship. I had 48 hours’ notice that I would be forgotten.”
“Therefore, since I had a hand in it, it was my ultimate goal to support the guys and see that we could win the championship.”
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