Ravichandran Ashwin praises Virat Kohli the Captain

Virat Kohli might be considered one of the greatest batsmen of all time, but often what goes uncredited is his captaincy. In the era of technological advancements coupled with social media, there is hardly any aspect of the game which remains unnoticed. However, the discussions behind closed doors, the on-the-feet strategies which slip the stump microphone’s ear also play a huge part in deciding the outcome of games.

R Ashwin, in a recent interview with Cricbuzz, threw light on Kohli the captain, and voiced his praise for the Indian and RCB skipper. Kohli, who took over the captaincy of the Indian team after M.S Dhoni, kept faith in R Ashwin as his leading spinner in Test cricket. Ashwin acknowledged the batting knowledge that Kohli brings to the table. "A large part of my success came because of how I knew how to hold a bat, score runs, and think as a batsman. When Virat gives you a perspective of the batsman, it gives me an understanding in a depth of detail. But I still have the autonomous detail in me to say, I want this, or I don't want this.”

Ashwin gave a bit of insight into how his mind works while bowling. "As you start playing cricket, there is a little bit of scar you develop... if I bowl a good ball, this is where it'll go, if I bowl good ball but if I err on the shorter side, this is where it'll go, if I err on the fuller side, this is where it'll go. If it is a great ball, this is where I'll get the wicket. These are the four things I'm thinking at the top of my run-up.”

Recalling an event from a test match in 2015 against Sri Lanka at Galle, Ashwin spoke on Kohli’s instinctual brilliance as a captain. "And Virat is very different when he gives you certain suggestions. We were in his first away tour of Virat as a captain in Sri Lanka and I was going through this unbelievable spell at Galle where whatever I dreamt of was happening. During this spell, Jehan Mubarak walked into the crease and there was a point, a cover, an extra-cover, mid-off, mid-on, and a square-leg. Slip, gully, and silly point was natural.”

"Virat picked out that extra man at cover and put him at leg slip. Virat then came and said 'Ash I think you should have a short leg also'. I said ok we can move the leg slip to short leg. He said 'no-no, I think you should also have a short leg ' and he removed covers. And he told me you bowl whatever you want to bowl, but there is no cover. And I told, "Virat there is no covers? For a left-hander, the ball is turning away and there is no covers?" He was like 'abbe chal na daal, chauka gaya toh gaya'. I was like ok what's there and I went and bowled the ball. It pitched and straightened and it went straight to short leg.” reminisced Ashwin.

If on-field perspective as a batsmen provided a different angle to look at the game from, there is more to Kohli’s captaincy that makes him the most successful Indian captain in terms of win percentage. Ashwin narrated an incident during Australia’s Test series leg of the tour to India in 2017. After Australia had beaten India in the first test by a large margin of 333 runs, and Nathan Lyon had taken 8 Indian wickets in the first innings of the second test in Bangalore, Ashwin felt the need to lead from the front with the ball. When everyone expected Ashwin to replicate Lyon’s success and roll over the Aussies, Ashwin felt the need to take a different approach, and make sure the Aussie openers in David Warner and Matthew Renshaw did not run away with the game.

Ashwin remembered speaking to Kohli about adopting a different strategy, saying “I think both Warner and Renshaw have practiced a lot of balls for off-spinners coming from around the stumps, so I want to change this game. He listened to my idea for a minute and said, he just started playing the game, ‘Chal, do whatever you want, I have belief in you’”. Ashwin, stuck to the plan of bowling over the stumps, even though the Indian head coach of the time, Anil Kumble thought the strategy was defensive. David Warner was eventually dismissed bowled by Ashwin, behind his legs. The incident reflects Kohli’s sensitivity as a leader to back his players and their opinion despite a possibility of criticism.