'He said ‘the only way you could get better is by making mistakes'' - R Ashwin reveals Duncan Fletcher's crucial advice

Ravichandran Ashwin has always been an integral part of India’s Test team. However, he has always looked to deliver in the white-ball format as well and he made a comeback in the T20 Internationals last year. He also represented Team India in the T20 World Cup 2021 in the United Arab Emirates.

In IPL 2022, Ashwin has played a major role with both bat and ball as he has scored some crucial runs down the order to finish the games for his team. His knock of 40* off 23 against Chennai Super Kings helped RR to secure the second spot over LSG at the end of the group stage. Apart from that, he has bagged 11 wickets in 15 matches so far at an economy of 7.33.

‘I used to go and ask Fletcher, “how do I improve?”: R Ashwin

Ashwin opened up about his time at this franchise along with his detailed batting styles. He said that there is advice from the former Indian head coach Duncan Fletcher, which he relates “all through his life”.

“Years ago, we had a head coach called Duncan Fletcher for the Indian cricket team. I used to go and ask him, “how do I improve? How do I get better?’ He said ‘the only way you could get better is by making mistakes and failing in front of people. And that’s what I’ve always done all through my life,” he said during a conversation with Rajasthan Royals’ official YouTube channel.

The 35-year-old also said that he always tries to bring new dimensions into his games. “I’ve received a lot of criticism for how I wanted to expand beyond the realm. Sometimes people just may feel, why is he doing all these things? Is he over-ambitious? Is he trying to do too much? But that’s just me. If you take that out of me, you won’t get this person. So yes, I come with a lot of problems! If I’m utilised and if I’m given the form of expressions I require, I can explore boundaries.”

Ashwin’s next focus will be on the Qualifier 2 against RCB as he will look to guide RR to their second final in the history of the IPL.