Ravi Ashwin bowled for three hours in optional nets session to correct his length: Mohammad Kaif

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif narrated an incident when Ravi Ashwin bowled three hours continuously in an optional net session during his stint with the Delhi Capitals. Kaif was with the Delhi franchise from 2019 to 2021, and he had watched Ashwin from close quarters. Ashwin has been quite an economical bowler in the last three to four seasons of the IPL despite not taking a lot of wickets and he can bowl in different phases as well. He got picked up by RR in the IPL 2022 mega auction for INR five crores.

In the ongoing IPL season, Ashwin has picked up two wickets for Rajasthan Royals in six games but has bowled some tight lines and kept the batters on their toes with an economy rate of 7.54. The off-spinner keeps bringing in new variations in the game and recently was the first batter in the league to retire out so that his team benefits. He has always been a tactician and the run out of Jos Buttler in 2019 was a testimony of his desire to outsmart the batters and keep coming up with surprises.

Ravi Ashwin felt he was too busy in shoots and didn’t spare time for his bowling: Mohammad Kaif

Kaif mentioned the conversation with Ashwin in the Delhi Capitals team bus after the first game at the Wankhede Stadium where the off-spinner wasn’t at his best and added that Ashwin was not happy to take rest during the optional practice session. Instead, Ashwin wanted to correct his lengths from the previous game and bowled for three hours until he got it right. Kaif noted Ashwin felt he was too busy with shoots and so he had to spend time in the nets to make sure he gets back his rhythm.

“Ashwin was with me at Delhi Capitals before moving to Rajasthan Royals. I remember the previous IPL’s first half being hosted in the country. The first game was at the Wankhede and he leaked many runs. It was an optional practice the next day. Players who had played the previous game had an option to rest. But Ashwin was with me on the bus. I asked him, ‘What happened? Today is just an optional session’. But he said, ‘I want to get my length right’,” Kaif told Sportskeeda

“He also spoke about doing too many shoots. You have many commitments in the IPL due to sponsors, and Ashwin maybe wasn’t ready for the first game. He felt he was too busy in shoots and didn’t spare time for his bowling. He was on the bus… and Ashwin bowled for almost three hours in the nets. He kept bowling and made the corrections. Right in the next game, he performed to his very best,” he added.