"I make friends with the media guys and get footage"- Ravichandran Ashwin makes stunning revelation ahead of 5th Test against England

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has always been a believer in putting in the hard yards off the field to get the best output on it. He recently revealed that sometimes, he takes the help of the media to get footage of how players are preparing ahead of a Test.

Ashwin dominated the likes of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith during India's tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21. He claimed that he could see from the footage that Labuschagne and Smith tried their best to counter his threat in the nets.

Speaking to former Indian legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble on Jio Cinema, here's what Ravichandran Ashwin had to say about getting into the minds of the opposition batters:

"Sometimes I make friends with the media guys and get footage from the backside when the batters are practicing in the nets. When I went to Australia, there were occasions where Marnus and Smith were using their feet and going back in the nets. It really works because I feel human beings are very insecure. The moment they know you have them, you're winning half the battle."

While Ravichandran Ashwin agreed that perhaps he didn't enjoy his success as much as he should have by taking a moment to reflect, he also believes his desire to keep adding to his game is what made him a successful bowler.

---

Ravichandran Ashwin on England and Australia's batters

Ravichandran Ashwin believes England and Australian batters over the years have gotten better at playing spin and at times have also outbatted their Indian counterparts. On this, he stated:

"I feel England and Australia batters bat against spin much better than some of our own on occasions because they know this is a very stern challenge so year across they end up preparing to play spin, like we prepare to play seam and bounce."

Ashwin also claimed that he doesn't believe that the future of finger spinners looks bleak in the white-ball format. He gave his example of how he made a comeback into India's white-ball setup by adapting to the needs of the game and opined:

"One of the greatest success stories of finger spin has to be how I have made a comeback into the T20I and ODI side over the past few years. The fact remains that the number of repititions you give as any spinner or any bowler and the amount of awareness you have over your skill will definitely supersede what part of skill you have."

Ravichandran Ashwin will play his 100th Test for India in the final game of the ongoing series against England in Dharamsala beginning on March 7. Ashwin has picked up 507 Test wickets from 99 Tests so far.