Ashwin has 409 wickets in Tests, 150 wickets in ODIs, and 52 wickets in T20Is for India.
Called one of the best thinking cricketers of the current generation, the Indian spinner always strives to explore something new, something extra in his game and that attitude has paid rich dividends for him throughout his career.
"The beauty about Test cricket is you are always aspiring to be perfect but you can settle for excellence, so that's pretty much I think I do. I think whatever I have achieved so far in my career is because of that attitude, did not settle for anything, constantly looking to improve.
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I maintained that if I don't like doing different things and if I lose the patience to do something new or get satisfied then I might not play the sport anymore,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by the ICC ahead of the ongoing World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand.
The spinner with 409 wickets in Tests, 150 wickets in ODIs, and 52 wickets in T20Is, said that he doesn't enjoy controversy but if poked he doesn't hesitate to give it back on the field with his performance.
"It's not like that I enjoy controversy but I enjoy a fight and that pretty much sums up why I am here. I don't celebrate victories as much as I ideally should because for me victory is an incident and is coincidental to planning and practice. I sit and think about what can be better," Ashwin said.
Ashwin admitted that he doesn't like to talk much about his own performances as for him playing the sport and excelling in it is his profession.
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“I don't really read or dwell on my performances to be very honest. To be brutally honest I just hate the fact that I am who I am because of what I do. In India, you get a lot of adulation but I am just another normal person who finds peace and happiness playing the sport.
It is just absolutely wonderful that I can ply my trade and feed my family and I get paid so well. This is a sport that gives meaning me to live. I am too excited about it. I don't time for people rating me or not rating me, it's just another person's opinion and that's just brutally how I live my life," he said.
Ashwin will be itching to get out on the field against New Zealand and will hope Indian batsmen put up a significant total on the board as the play resumes on day 3 of the Test match.
(PTI inputs)