“I'm someone who's constantly learnt from my lows” - Ravichandran Ashwin reflects on ups and downs of his cricketing journey

Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin made a successful return to the playing XI when India took on West Indies on Day 1 of the first Test at Windsor Park in Dominica on Wednesday, July 12.

He claimed 5/60 in 24.3 overs as the Windies were bundled out for 150. After the end of the day’s play, Ashwin reflected on the many ups and downs of his career, stating that he is someone who has constantly learned from his lows.

The seasoned cricketer experienced a massive disappointment recently when he was dropped from India's playing XI for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final against Australia at The Oval. To put things into perspective, Ashwin is the No. 1-ranked bowler in Test cricket as per the official ICC rankings.

On Day 1 of the Dominica Test, Ashwin claimed his 33rd five-wicket haul in Test matches, going past James Anderson (32) on an illustrious list. He also completed 700 international wickets.

Looking back at his incredible journey, the Tamil Nadu cricketer said:

"There is no cricketer or human being in this world that has gone through the highs without the lows. When you have the lows, it gives you two choices, either you sulk or talk about it and then complain about it and go along with it and go down. Or you learn from it. So I'm someone who's constantly learnt from my lows.”

Admitting that the path to success has been incredibly draining, the 36-year-old added that his search for excellence has kept him motivated.

“When you've had a good day, you know you've had a good day but there are areas you can work on and get better for tomorrow. This constant search for excellence has held me in good stead all the time, but it's also been incredibly draining. It's not a journey that's been very easy. For me, the journey has been draining, but I'm very thankful for all the lows because without the lows there are no highs,” Ashwin added.

Before the WTC 2023 final, Ashwin was left out of the playing XI in all four Tests during India’s tour of England in 2021.

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“It's just gone like that”- Ashwin on his cricketing career

While Ashwin’s career has had its fair share of disappointments, the senior cricketer is very much at peace with how things have panned out. He opened up on how COVID changed his outlook towards life and he decided to enjoy whatever came his way.

"Actually when I look back at my career, I wonder how it's gone by so fast. It's been literally 14 years on the go and if you include IPL also, it's been almost a 15-16 years journey. It's just gone like that,” he said.

Ashwin also recalled a piece of advice from Rahul Dravid that continues to resonate with him.

“The first time I met Rahul Dravid as a coach, he made this statement: 'It's not about how many wickets you take, how many runs you score. You'll forget about all of them. It is only the great memories you create as a team that'll stick with you,'” he continued.

"I'm totally behind that. I don't know if he's brainwashed me to do that. From my point of view, I definitely think that this journey has gone so fast that I'm not even able to recollect what has happened, and how it has gone through. I've got a lot of gratitude and I'm very grateful for the journey and what the game has given to me,” Ashwin added.

Playing in his 93rd Test, Ashwin has 479 wickets to his name at an average of 23.80. He has also scored over 3000 runs and has five tons to his credit.