‘A lot of people marked and positioned me that I am an overthinker’ – Ravichandran Ashwin’s bold statement after WTC final 2023 against Australia
Ravichandran Ashwin (Source: Twitter)
Star India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin is currently participating in the seventh edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2023 for Dindigul Dragons, the tournament started on Monday, June 12. If we talk about Ashwin, he was excluded from the playing XI of the second edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which they lost to Australia by 209 runs.
The 36-year-old is recognized as India’s prime spinner across all formats in the last decade and is currently the number-one bowler in Test. He was the leading wicket-taker for India in the 2021-23 cycle of WTC and his absence from the WTC final was a surprise for all cricket fans. The former cricketers and commentators expressed their displeasure for excluding him from the team.
“It’s a hard question to answer, right? Because we are standing right after the WTC Final. I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last final I got four wickets and bowled really well,” Ashwin was quoted as saying in the Indian Express.
So this is what suits me: Ravichandran Ashwin
“To look inwards and say, ‘Okay, somebody is judging me is foolishness’. I think I’m not at the stage of my career to think what others are thinking of me. I know what I am capable of. If I’m not good at something, I’ll be my first best critic. And I will work on it and I’m not someone who will sit on my laurels. I’ve never been made that way. So to think of who’s judging me is immaterial,” the off-spinner asserted.
The Rajasthan Royals off-spinner is playing for team India for more than a decade, but still, he has not been considered as the leader. Ashwin believes that this is because of the overthinker tag that Captaincy has put on him.
“I’m a lot more chilled than I used to be. A lot more relaxed in my life than I ever have been. Sitting here today, I realize how much of a toll it had taken on me mentally to the point where I was traumatized. But I am very glad to have come through that and discovered a new me,” the Chennai-born player stated.
“A lot of people marketed me and positioned me that I am an overthinker. A person who will get 15-20 matches on the go doesn’t have to be mentally overthinking. A person who knows that they will get only two games will be traumatized and will be overthinking because it’s my job. It’s my journey. So this is what suits me,” the world’s number one test bowler concluded.
