Over-reliance on coaches can stop players from finding own solutions: Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin doesn’t like “latching on to people” and that’s one reason why he has never warmed up to the idea of banking on coaches in the traditional sense as he believes that such dependence makes players dogmatic.

In his 14-year international cricket career, spanning 281 games and 744 wickets across formats, Ashwin’s sense of agency and his ability to time and again rediscover himself, have helped him survive the grind.

“A lot of players are heavily dependent on coaches or mentors, or one person which I think is a very dangerous trend because latching on to people and over-dependency can cause you to not be able to open to new ideas,” the 37-year-old off-spinner told PTI in a telephonic interview recently.

It is not that Ashwin never had a sounding board. His first state team coach WV Raman, one of the respected names in Indian cricket, and Tamil Nadu legend and former India batter S Badrinath, have been guiding forces for him.

But his equation with them never turned into the kind of dependence that would take away his own ability to search for solutions.

“See very often the challenge of a coach is to be able to offer you several solutions. This is because what works for one (particular player) might not work for the other,” he explained.

“One modern-day coaching philosophy which I totally disagree with is the fact that they try to copy-paste the same technique (solution) that’s worked for another cricketer,” Ashwin, who recently made his debut as an author with ‘I Have The Streets: A Kutti Cricket Story’, added.

While he is completely aware that some players get results by surrendering to the vision of their coaches, he also feels that such dependence can lead to a closed mind.

“Because as a cricketer, you constantly are thrown up with new challenges, so you must be able to find your own answers,” the tweaker, who is behind only the legendary Anil Kumble in the list of India’s highest Test wicket-takers, pointed out.

To Ashwin, Raman has been that catalyst, who helped him focus his intuitive mind.

“People can give you a helping hand. But they cannot guide you through in your career, you will have to be open to fresh ideas.

“For me, WV allowed me the freedom to express, and, you know, try new
things. He also taught me how and on what path I need to travel, but he never said, ‘This is the path you need to travel upon’.

“So in a way, in my early days, guidance from WV ensured that I was
never really over-reliant on anybody.”

Ashwin said getting a second opinion is never a bad idea but cricket primarily is a self-taught sport.

“If you don’t have awareness of your own game and if you can’t teach yourself, I think you are always going to be dependent on someone which I think is a very dangerous part.

“I am not saying people with coaches or people who are dependent don’t do well in life but there is a chance of selling yourself short,” he asserted.

He is gearing up for a big 10-Test season and the Bangladesh series next month will be his first under new head coach Gautam Gambhir, someone with whom he has also played a lot.

Ashwin also admires him as one of the “heroes” of Indian cricket.

“Gautam is someone I still share a very, very good relationship with. Because of the fact that he is a very straightforward and an honest guy.

“I think Gautam is also one of those guys that we should always be backing. He’s a hero of Indian cricket,” he said of the new coach, who took charge in the recent tour of Sri Lanka.

It took me 2-3 years to perfect ‘Carrom Ball’

The best in the world have struggled to read his signature ‘carrom ball’ but Ashwin, who first saw Ajantha Mendis bowl it during an age-group camp in Chennai, said that it took him nearly three years before he was satisfied with its execution.

For the uninitiated, a carrom ball is a delivery which turns the other way and is released with a flick of the middle finger. In case of a right hander, it will turn away from the bat.

“I started bowling those balls in the nets 2006 or 2007 onwards, which was probably the second season for me in first-class cricket.

“It took me a good two years before I implemented it in the south zone leg matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (KS Subbaiah Pillai Trophy) in 2008. By 2010, I was probably pretty confident about the pace at which I bowled.

“So, it took about two to three years for me to gain confidence.”

Priority should always be playing for India

The IPL has changed the lives of young Indian cricketers and has been “tremendous” for country’s cricketing ecosystem but Ashwin believes that for an aspiring cricketer, the ultimate goal should forever be playing for the country.

“I am very glad that a lot of young kids are coming now and making a good amount of money. It is changing their livelihood, changing the status of their families. It’s unbelievable for India, for the Indian cricketing ecosystem,” he said.

“But I still feel there must be some incentive and some motivation for all these kids to want to play for India, and that’s absolutely in the hands of the stakeholders and the decision makers.”