R Ashwin has been the best Indian spinner for a long time now. A veteran of 71 Tests and 111 ODI matches, he has picked 365 and 150 wickets respectively since making his debut in 2011. He also has 52 wickets in T20Is.

Ashwin flourished under the captaincy of MS Dhoni and also shared the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar for a long time. He recalls both master cricketers coming to his rescue whenever he was going through a dark patch in his career.

R Ashwin shares his top three career moments across all formats

Ashwin revealed how Sachin boosted his morale during the 2011 World Cup when he was not getting enough chances as Harbhajan Singh was India's first-choice off-spinner. “Sachin came up to me and said, you’re bowling really well in the nets, bowl like this when you get your game as well," Ashwin told WV Raman in a Star Sports new series ‘Mind Masters by MFORE.

The second instance Ashwin recalled was of MS Dhoni encouraging him during the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 when he didn’t have the start he was looking for. Ashwin went wicket-less in India's opener against South Africa where he conceded 47 runs in the match.

“MS Dhoni came and told me in the first game of the CT 2013 that I was bowling fantastically even though I didn’t pick up a wicket," said Ashwin. He ended up picking 8 wickets in the tournament.

India went onto win the tournament handsomely, beating host England in the final. Ashwin bowled the final over of the match, as India crossed the finishing line by 5 runs.