Ravichanddran Ashwin showed his ability to remain calm under pressure when he came out to bat in the final over of the T20 World Cup 2022 match against Pakistan. Ashwin showed great presence of mind to leave the wide delivery bowled by Mohammad Nawaz, earning India an extremely important run. When India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey was asked about the instruction Ashwin was given going into the final over, he gave a brilliant response.
It was Ashwin’s application and judgment that earned plenty of praise from peers, former cricketers, as well as fans. Speaking in the press conference on the eve of India’s second group match of the T20 World Cup against the Netherlands, Mhambrey revealed that the off-spinner usually tells the coaching staff what he is going to do on the field, and not the other way around.
“Actually, it’s the other way round. He tells us, ‘this is what I’m going to do’,” Mhambrey said when asked what message was Ashwin given.
“It’s just the way he is. The individual is so full of composure, and his presence of mind to actually leave the ball… any other individual at that stage would swing his bat, but that’s Ashwin for you,” he further explained.
Ashwin was also lauded by the hero of the match, Virat Kohli, for the way he applied his brain in the match.
“I told Ashwin to hit over the covers. But uss time pe Ash ne dimaag ke uppar extra dimaag lagya (Ashwin used his brain at that point of time). That was a very brave thing to do, he came inside the line and the ball turned out to be a wide. The situation was that if the ball goes into the gap, we will end up winning and that is what happened,” Kohli had said in a chat with Star Sports.
It was because of moments like these that Ashwin has been brought into the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup. The off-spinner is expected to play an important role in the team against the Netherlands on Thursday.
