India vs England : Ashwin credits Rathour for his improved batting show
After scoring a defiant century in Chennai, Ravichandran Ashwin has credited the work done with batting coach Vikram Rathour and stated that he gave him the freedom to express himself.
Ravichandran Ashwin was on a roll with the ball, picking up his fourth fifer in Chennai – his home ground – but his batting was the real revelation. On a pitch that many termed “unplayable”, Ashwin held on and provided a masterclass, scoring his fifth Test century.
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His improved batting since the Sydney Test has been a point of discussion and Ashwin revealed that it was down to the inputs of batting coach Vikram Rathour.
“He has been very very helpful in terms of trying to explore new options,” Ashwin told Star Sports.
“As it is I am someone who tries a lot, and he is facilitating me to go out and express myself and explore various options. I’d love to credit him for my batting in the last four-five Tests.
“He has kept me in the loop, he has said I have been batting very well, and not to overthink it.”
Last time I swept before this was when I was 19, reveals Ashwin
One of the most eye-catching features of Ashwin’s batting this Test has been his sweep, which he has done with effortless ease. It was especially evident after Rohit Sharma followed the Joe Root template for runs and Ashwin’s knock had a lot of sweep shots, so to say.
However, the all-rounder revealed that the last time he played any sweep shot was back in his teenage years and he had dropped that idea after being dropped from the side.
“After the last Test we were talking about how we are going to counter Leach and probably start bringing the sweep into our game. The last time I swept was when I was 19 years old.
“And I missed a couple of sweep shots, got dropped from the side and didn’t play the sweep for the last 13-14 years.
“[I’ve] been practising only that shot over the last week to 10 days. Very very thankful that the plan has paid off. The wicket is such that you can get your runs square. A very very good day.”