India vs England 2021: 'Lost 7-8 Kilos In Lockdown', Reveals Ravichandran Ashwin While Speaking About His Recent Success

Indian ace-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin revealed that he worked on his fitness during the Coronavirus enforced lockdown and hence it has made him a better cricketer and helped him become a much-improved bowler as well.

Ravi Ashwin recently became the fourth Indian bowler to take 400 wickets in Tests and also completed 600 wickets in international cricket, during the third Test between India and England which the home side won by 10 wickets in the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The 34-year-old Tamil Nadu-born spinner is one of the leading spinners in the world and has become a one-format bowler for India as well, with his last limited-overs encounter for India coming in 2017.

I Lost About 7-8 Kgs In The Lockdown And Everything Looked Upwards For Me: Ravichandran Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin had picked 9 wickets in the first Test in Chennai, 8 wickets in the second Test, again in Chennai and now picked 7 wickets in the third Test at Ahmedabad and completed his 400 Test wickets as well.

“I think my bowling was coming along beautifully in the IPL too. I lost about 7-8 kgs in the lockdown and everything looked upwards for me. I can’t really get a grip of what has happened in the last 2-3 months. It has been a dreamy run and a fairytale. I don’t know if I’m ageing, but it’s incredibly hard to watch the game. To come back [after losing the first Test] and win it is even more special,” said Ravichandran Ashwin in the post-match show.

I Won’t Be Surprised If I Improve Further In The Future: Ravichandran Ashwin

Further in the interview, Ravichandran Ashwin was asked whether this was the best he had bowled. Ashwin also shared his thoughts on how the match went and praised his fellow spinner Axar Patel, who picked a Man of the Match award-winning 11/70 in the match.

“In 2015-16 everyone asked me (if I’m bowling at my best), in 2016-17, one thing is sure I’ve always wanted to improve. I won’t be surprised if I improve further in the future,” Ravichandran Ashwin said.

“We were worried after getting bowled out for 145, didn’t think we didn’t have many runs on the board. But we then bowled beautifully on a wicket assisting us. But Axar bowled beautifully in the third innings,” Ravichandran Ashwin added.

Also Read: Axar Patel Reveals Why Rishabh Pant Called Him “Wasim Bhai” From Behind The Stumps