Ravichandran Ashwin believes he is "fighting my own benchmarks" as he often faces heavy criticism for the alarming difference in the quality of his numbers at home from those at abroad.
Ashwin is easily India's best bowler in subcontinent conditions, but the same can't be said about the off-spinner when he turns up overseas, in countries like Australia, South Africa, England, where more fitness than any gap in skillset, has often held him back.
"See, one thing is for sure. I'm actually fighting my own benchmarks in a lot of ways," Ashwin said in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo. "The number of games that I've managed to win for my country and for myself, the number of successes I've had and the excellence I've shown is always measured up in equal parlance when I travel away from the country, which is great."
Ashwin was dropped from India's most recent Test outing in Christchurch after playing the first match in Wellington on the tour of New Zealand.
But to be really fair to the man, he has been constantly improving his game, as shown in spells at Centurion, Edgbaston, Adelaide during the 2018-19 season.
The 33-year-old has been a regular at county cricket as well, which has helped him make-up for the lost game time since been pigeonholed as a Test specialist.
"Increasingly, (with) the number of games I've played in England, I've started realising that for a spinner to be bowling in alien conditions and to be able to repeat similar numbers as at home, you need to be bowling in all the possible right times of the game, first," he said.
"And, secondly, you do need a little bit of luck. After 2014 (December 2013), when I had that South Africa game, I've taken a very serious look at my numbers and those numbers have significantly increased very, very well," Ashwin added.
(Inputs from ANI)
