Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his newfound freedom from external and internal pressure on Friday, September 20. R Ashwin stated that he is now focusing on playing cricket with a positive mindset.
Ashwin liberates himself from pressure imposed on him by people
Ashwin's recent century in the first Test against Bangladesh, which rescued India from a difficult situation, highlighted his ability to thrive under pressure.
The 38-year-old emphasized that unlike in the past, he now only responds to pressure situations on the cricket field. He has learned to manage his emotions and focus on the task at hand.
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“I do enjoy and embrace pressure. There’s no doubt about it. It does give you opportunities to be able to be pushed to a corner and then try and respond. But I was critical too, earlier (of himself and others), because a lot of pressure has been put on me by people. I’ve put pressure on myself,” Ashwin told reporters after the end of Day 2's play.
“The pressure I’ve always responded to – in answering someone, in a performance or in a press conference. But it’s not like that now. I want to play cricket with a smile on my face. I promised myself 4-5 years ago that I won’t respond to anyone, and I’ve been maintaining that till now,” he added.
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Ashwin's ability to mentally detach himself from external influences has allowed him to clearly distinguish between his primary and secondary roles as a bowler and batsman.
“Bowling and batting are very separate sports in the same game. One is done consciously, and the other one is done subconsciously. For me to compartmentalise both has taken its own due and at this stage, I’m able to sequence that and split both of them,” Ashwin further stated.
To maintain his focus on batting during his 189-minute innings, which spanned three sessions and consumed 240 balls, Ashwin adopted a strategy that was completely opposite to what he would have used as a bowler.
“The mind can play tricks because I’m a bowler who plays on 12-18 balls or 24 balls ahead when I’m sequencing it. But as a batter, I shouldn’t do that. So, I just used my experience to focus on the ball and hitting it as I see it,” he noted.
Ashwin played a vital role in rescuing India from a difficult situation on the first day of the Test match against Bangladesh. Ashwin's fighting century (113) helped India recover from a precarious 144/6 and reach a respectable total of 376. Thanks to Ashwin's counter-attacking century, India is in a strong position to win the first Test. They ended the second day on 81/3, extending their lead to 308 runs after Jasprit Bumrah's four-fer helped hosts bundled out Bangladesh for just 149 runs.
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