R Ashwin is likely to go down as one of the great players who never led their Test team. The champion off-spinner who has taken 516 wickets in 100 Test matches has finally opened up on his Test ambitions and why he feels he has not yet got into the captaincy or vice-captaincy role of the Indian Test team.
After Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain in early 2022, the BCCI immediately considered Rohit Sharma as the default new captain, while KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah have led India in Tests when Rohit was injured in the past two years.
However, it feels like a travesty to many that R Ashwin never got the captaincy job. The biggest reason, one could think of, is that Ashwin doesn’t have a certain place in the XI in countries like England, South Africa, and New Zealand with Ravindra Jadeja at times playing as the lone spinner.
Speaking with The Indian Express on this sensitive topic, R Ashwin said people may think he will change himself or other players if he got the captaincy job. He called it an “unfair” thinking.
“It’s not like I change my action and tomorrow if I am leading a side, I would go to Jadeja and tell him that he should change his action. I’m not that dumb. In a way, people just assumed that that’s how it could be. They just thought he would not fit the bill as a leader and that’s quite an unfair assessment,” R Ashwin said.
Everybody has unique methods: R Ashwin
Ashwin has captained Tamil Nadu, India A, and Punjab Kings in the IPL. With Ashwin being 37 years old and both KL Rahul and Bumrah being much younger, it’s unlikely that the off-spinner will get the captaincy armband. But he is at peace with what he has achieved, and what he will not.
He reckons the thought-process in cricket – among the board, selectors, and fans – is fixed.
“The cricket community likes to keep it really simple. Unless it’s broken, they wouldn’t try to mend it. But I come from a school where even before it’s broken, I want to make sure I stitch it up and don’t get to a point where it’s broken. Why is this happening? That’s the question that people fail to recognize I am addressing something before they believe I should address it.
“Everybody has unique methods. A method that’s worked for me, will not work for Jadeja. Because their journey is different and mine is different. They might get five opportunities but I will get only two. And I made peace with the fact that I will get only two,” he added.
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