Mumbai: The natural response to any criticism is anger, but Ravichandran Ashwin found Sanjay Manjrekar’s harsh assessments of his bowling to be constructive, working harder over subsequent years to reshape his standing.
The former India and Mumbai batter turned broadcaster, known for his direct commentary, had questioned Ashwin’s performances in a column after the off-spinner claimed just nine wickets across three Tests in Australia at an average of 62 during the 2011-12 series, which India lost 0-4.
“After my first Australia tour, Sanjay Manjrekar wrote a long article. When I was returning, I read the whole thing, and after reading it, I got really angry. I actually felt bad. Anger was just a reaction, but I felt really bad. But after that, I slept on the flight and let it go. Back then, I didn’t talk to Sanjay much,” Ashwin said on ‘Jio Hotstar’.
However, he recognised that Manjrekar’s critique should be received constructively, offering specific areas in his bowling and physical conditioning that required development.
“…after coming back home, I worked really hard for the next four years. I wasn’t a gifted athlete. I worked very hard, and in 2015, he wrote another article saying that I was bowling so well now and that he wanted me to keep performing like that.”
Ashwin ultimately obtained Manjrekar’s contact details and sent him a message outlining how the article had affected him.
“Then I asked for his number and messaged him that I had felt bad back then, but his article came to me like a guru and changed my life. Because there was substance in what he said. So, if I ever get criticised, I just think about whether there’s something to learn from it. If I feel there’s something to learn, I take it.”
Ashwin initially played as an opening batter during his junior cricket days, shifting towards off-spin during his later youth career after observing Harbhajan Singh’s prominent displays in the 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Under Dinesh Karthik’s captaincy, I played Under-19 cricket for the first time. Back then, I used to bat a bit and didn’t bowl as much. So, whenever I bowled, I used to bowl with Bhajju Pa’s bowling action because I was genuinely a fan.
“When Bhajju Pa came onto the scene, every day I used to copy his action while playing gully cricket. And actually, his dismissal of Ricky Ponting, and the dismissal of Matthew Hayden while bowling from over the stumps, during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, I watched all those matches very closely.
“But I never thought I’d become an off-spinner. In my mind, it was always batting. But when he (Harbhajan) used to bowl, there was something about him, his character, his ability to stand up to everyone and take the fight. So, I really liked that generation. I was genuinely a fan of him, and from there, I never imagined I would come this far.”