Indian Off-Spinner R Ashwin spoke to the media ahead of the third ODI between India and Bangladesh. With series out of India’s hands, Ashwin was asked to face the heat in front of media and he faced them with ease. Here is what he had to say in the Press Conference.
On losing the series to Bangladesh:
I think it’s not legacy that we are looking to wash away. From my side, this is not the first team that Bangladesh will beat in the future. They are a good side, and on the rise. I think they will beat more teams. They have beaten Pakistan. South Africa will come along, and they will fancy their chances against them. So I don’t think it’s like regretting a particular thing. You don’t go into a game thinking, ‘They beat me, now we are really angry and we want to smash them’. That’s not how it works. It’s international cricket, they have done their bit. They had their own biding time and now they’re on the rise. So it’s very important to respect the opponents. You can’t go back and say that this is like an insult. It’s not. A good side has beaten us and we have to admit that.
Batting or Bowling- The Reason for the series loss:
It’s a team, and it’s eleven individuals who come together and play. I don’t want to isolate batting or bowling and say, ‘This didn’t work or that didn’t work’. That is the start of a break in the team and that will not happen as far as I’m concerned. If you bat well, the bowlers have a good chance of winning games and if you bowl well, the batsmen have a good chance of winning games. The roles are very important and very definite. Somebody can bowl 10 overs for 25 runs without taking a wicket but that could be a match defining spell. But you won’t hear the media talking about it. Only because the bowlers have done their job have we won 75 per cent of our games. It’s important to appreciate that.
Plans for the third ODI:
Yes, I know bad results crop and all kinds of statistics crop up. With statistics you can prove whatever you want as you please. You have to give credit to the individual because he has done a lot of good things. I think we should be honest in admitting the fact that we haven’t played very flamboyant cricket (in this series), and we have not come out of our shell. But as a whole, the dressing room atmosphere hasn’t been anything short of anything it has been in the past. I think we are used to the fact that we do lose a few, but we win more, which has kept us in good stead. But going into this game (third ODI), we’ve really got to free the birds up and try and play as positively as we can.
On MS Dhoni, the skipper:
He (Dhoni) is a legend of Indian cricket. He has done so much for the nation. You can’t blame him for the whole team’s performance. That’s not fair. We have failed as a group. We need to grow up as a group. As far as I am concerned it’s like an army, if you don’t go behind your leader then you are definitely going to get shot. If my captain asks me to die on the field, I’ll do it.
On Mustafizur Rahman:
There isn’t a counter as such. I mean what can we do? Can we kidnap him (Mustafizur)? See it is not a media news. It’s international cricket. Everybody is a professional to analyse what needs to be done. He does bowl a good cutter, which is something we have to watch out for. We have to give him the respect as well. Respect is what is important in international cricket.