Thought career was at crossroads last year, didn't know if I would be in Test team: Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin, who took his 419th wicket in his 80th Test to surpass Harbhajan Singh (417 in 103 Tests) on Monday, said he thought his career was at a "crossroad" after India's New Zealand tour early last year. Ashwin was supposed to be on the sidelines but an injury to Ravindra Jadeja opened the door for him and he continued to provide important breakthroughs to team India. He didn't make it to the team for the away series against England earlier this year, but made a point to prove his credentials after returning for the home Test against England.

Basking in the glory of becoming India's third-highest Test wicket-taker, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he feared his career would not survive the chaos unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

"To be very modest about what is happening in my life and my career over the last couple of years, I did not know if I would go on to play Test cricket when we were in the pandemic, in the lockdown," Ashwin said in an interview by India team-mate Shreyas Iyer for the BCCI website.

"I had not played (India's) last Test in Christchurch (which began on February 29, 2020). I was standing at the crossroads thinking whether I would play Tests again, where is my future headed, do I get in to the Test team which is the only format I am playing. But God has been kind and I have been able to turn things around. I then shifted to Delhi Capitals when you (Shreyas) were captain and things have changed ever since," he said in the interview uploaded in bcci.tv.

Ashwin's entire family tested positive for the dreaded virus in May this year during the IPL's India leg and he had to quit the event, which was eventually completed in the UAE in September-October. Ashwin said Harbhajan inspired him to take up off-spin after he saw the veteran's exploits during the historic Test series against Australia in 2001.

"When he (Harbhajan) was bowling that wonderful spell against Australia in 2001, I never thought I would even be an off-spinner (one day) on that particular day. But, inspired by him, I picked up the ball to bowl off-spin and here I am. Thank you Bhajji pa for inspiring me.

"It is a wonderful milestone. It is a matter of pride. I got my 200th wicket on the same ground and now I surpassed Harbhajan Singh's tally on this very same ground again."

Recalling how he became an off-spinner after watching Harbhajan, Ashwin said, "Actually, I was more of a batter. I used to bowl a lot of seam-up for Tamil Nadu and then my pelvic disc slipped. Then I just started batting, I didn't want to bowl at all. I wanted to do nothing with bowling. After the 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I decided to take up spin bowling. That's when I watched Bhajji pa. It was pretty easy, put your hands across and just hop and skip and you keep going. That's how I started, but now I don't know whether I can do it (copy Harbhajan's style) because I have been on my action for a long, long time," he added.

Ashwin thanked Harbhajan for congratulating him on his milestone. "I would like to thank him for the message. I will go and if I see it on Twitter, I will reply to him as well. Thank you so much Bhajji pa. Probably I never wished to surpass any of the legends but I am doing it. I am lucky and honoured to have done it.

"But overall, these are numbers that are just happening as a result of what effort I have been putting in and how I am trying to enjoy my game. At this point in time, honestly speaking, I am not worried about what number I am surpassing or anything."

(With inputs from PTI)