'I was envious': R Ashwin makes honest confession about Ravindra Jadeja

Ravichandran Ashwin has offered an interesting account of what made his bowling partnership with Ravindra Jadeja so successful, revealing how he learned to use the left-arm spinner's strengths and limitations to his advantage. Ashwin described Jadeja as an exceptionally gifted cricketer but suggested that the all-rounder initially lacked the instinct to consistently find ways to dismiss batters.The two formed one of the most successful spin combinations in Test cricket, sharing the field in 58 matches and accounting for 587 wickets.

While Ashwin claimed 317 of those dismissals, Jadeja contributed 270. According to the former India off-spinner, their success stemmed from understanding each other's contrasting approaches and making the most of them.Speaking on Aakash Chopra's podcast show, Baith & Bol, Ashwin explained that he understood Jadeja's game well enough to help him operate within his strengths rather than push him towards something that did not come naturally to him.“I know his limitations well," Ashwin said.

“Very few can bring him out of those limitations. I was one of them. His biggest strength: naturally gifted. If he has a bad day, you just tell him your effort is fine; tomorrow will be better. His action was simple, release point simple, tappa so good—he doesn’t have to think. He didn’t know how to dismiss batsmen—I’m saying he absolutely didn’t know. But his skill to choke batsmen was intertwined with his skill.

You can’t sweep him—trajectory is low. You can’t step out—airspeed is good. You can’t play defense without doubting if the ball would remain the same."One aspect of Jadeja's bowling that often came under scrutiny was his reluctance to vary his pace or give the ball more flight, even when the conditions called for it. Ashwin revealed that he had attempted to persuade his spin partner to experiment more, but those efforts often came at the expense of Jadeja's effectiveness and economy.Eventually, Ashwin recognised that Jadeja's ability to keep things tight from one end gave him the freedom to attack from the other.

While Jadeja restricted the opposition's scoring opportunities, Ashwin could experiment with different deliveries and concentrate on taking wickets. That combination also made Jadeja more difficult to deal with.Ashwin said developing this understanding gave him even greater appreciation for what Jadeja brought to the team, particularly his remarkable consistency and control.“When I understood that, my respect for Jadeja doubled—what he does is not easy.

I have seen many skillful spinners, but the repetitive nature- keeping the ball there at the same speed is very difficult. Spinning the ball at that speed is not easy," he said.Ashwin also spoke candidly about experiencing a sense of envy towards Jadeja's natural abilities, although he clarified that he was never jealous of his teammate's success. What stood out to him was the ease with which Jadeja could excel across different aspects of the game without having to put in the same kind of conscious experimentation.Responding to Chopra's question about what made him envious, Ashwin listed Jadeja's remarkable all-round abilities, from bowling and fielding to batting, and admitted that he often wondered what he could have achieved with similar natural gifts.“A person who doesn’t experiment in the nets, but if you give him the ball, he’ll land on tappa, good speed, rotation, takes catches in the field, runs like a bullet, moves like silk, connects every second direct hit, has every batting shot, power, skill, defense against spinners, developed against fast bowlers, scored 300 in Ranji Trophy.

It was all natural! However much we’d work hard to get close to him, his skill was still bigger. I often thought if I had that skill, I’d rule the world. But it is what it is. He was so skillful that he didn’t have to think much."Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.