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Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin recently opened up about the influence of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni on his cricket. He stated that the wicket-keeper, who has captained him both for CSK and India, has always backed him to experiment with his bowling.
In an exclusive interview with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda Cricket's Facebook page, Ashwin touched upon his splendid international career and MS Dhoni's impact on his bowling.
When asked about something that has truly left a mark on him, Ashwin chose MS Dhoni's constant encouragement.
"This is a story a lot of people might not associate with MS Dhoni but I'd like to bring this to the surface. Many a times, when people question MS Dhoni about how he does it, he talks about process and doesn't divulge a lot of his secrets. But the one person that has encouraged me day-in day-out in terms of trying new things is MS Dhoni," said Ashwin.
"He saw that streak in me early on, for both CSK and India. People always say that I try too much and experiment too much. I've also questioned myself and MS Dhoni has constantly told me that my biggest strength is that I can bowl anything. He said that at the end of the day, I'm bloody good at what I do," he added.
"When MS Dhoni says 'stick to the process', there is sound reasoning behind it"
Ashwin further spoke about his experiences playing for CSK in the 2010 Champions League T20.
In a match against the Victoria Bushrangers which went to a Super Over, the spinner asked his captain to bowl it, only to concede 23 runs to Aaron Finch and David Hussey.
"In 2010, I was the Player of the Series in the Champions League. I bowled a Super Over and I got pummelled under pressure after volunteering to bowl. David Hussey hit me for about 20 runs and I was distraught after the game, completely lost because I let my captain down," Ashwin stated.
The Tamil Nadu bowler went on to state that MS Dhoni backed him to bowl the variations even in a high-pressure situation such as a Super Over.
"He (MS Dhoni) said, 'You should have bowled the carrom ball, where did it go? It's your biggest strength. Whoever says anything, it doesn't matter. If you bowl your best and things don't work out, you can't do anything.'"
"When he says 'stick to the process', there is sound reasoning behind it and without this, MS Dhoni wouldn't have achieved what he has achieved."
Ashwin also said that MS Dhoni has always given him freedom to set his own field, even during his formative years at CSK.
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