I will do better in the future series” – Ravichandran Ashwin says he will ‘hold himself in check’ for DRS calls

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been in terrific touch ever since the COVID-19 lockdown. In the two test series that he has played – in Australia and against England at home, the 35-year-old has been weaving magic with his spin bowling. Such has been his form that the Tamil Nadu player himself stated that he was in the phase of his career where he is in the form of his life.

Despite his excellent performance with the ball as well as bat, there was one area where there was a lot of scope for improvement in Ashwin’s game. That was with regard to DRS calls which cost India of reviews at regular intervals.

Ashwin said he was good with his DRS calls earlier but admitted that was not the case in the England series. “I think we need to change the lens with which people are looking at me for the DRS,” Ashwin told India Today. “Before this series against England, my DRS (usage) was extremely good. Because you take the DRS, you need to rely on the keeper’s resources. I ask valid questions in terms of saying ‘I know whether the ball struck in line or not’,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

Ashwin takes a light-hearted dig at Rishabh Pant

Ashwin said that Rishabh Pant has actually let him down on a few occasions when it comes to DRS calls. He said, “But with respect to the line from the angle that I am bowling and the bounce, the keeper really needs to help. And Rishabh is actually letting me down, on a lot of occasions. I took him aside and said we need to sit down and discuss because Ravi Bhai has a few complaints about me going for DRS.”

Speaking further about his white-ball ambitions, Ashwin said, “I am totally at peace and extremely happy with the kind of cricket and life I’m leading right now that given an opportunity I will make a game-breaking performance which I’m almost certain about because of the kind of space I find myself in. So what questions people have to ask, what opinions people have, I’m not worried about at all. As of now, every single day I play the game out there on the park, I want to leave a smile on everyone’s face and mine, most importantly.”

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