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'Jadeja on the field is a fire. He's a rocket on the field. So, all in all, I envy him. I'm jealous of him but totally admire him'
At 38, Ravichandran Ashwin's preparation for a 'tough' long season ahead differs from what it used to be a decade ago, and the star spinner on Sunday admitted that it is now more about taking one match at a time than fitting the whole season in a single frame.
Till June, 2025, India will play nine more Tests, including a possible World Test Championship (WTC) Final in vastly differing conditions.
It motivates Ashwin to reinvent himself after each match and be ready for the next challenge.
"Like you rightly said, it's a long season. It's tough. Sometimes when you look so far ahead, it can be quite difficult. You're playing like 3-4 months of cricket, and 10 Test matches," Ashwin told reporters after the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.
"But sometimes you can't think like that. You have to stack it up (one match at a time). I did put in a bit of work getting into it. I need to have some reserves in the tank," he added.
The Chennaiite also wanted to use the breaks in between Tests or two series to keep himself in the optimum physical condition.
"There are good breaks between games. Hopefully, we'll get small windows for me to keep ironing it out (fitness). More than skill, I think it's about physically being able to go through the season which is of utmost importance for me," he noted.
Accordingly, Ashwin has tweaked his fitness routine as well.
"It's not the same as if you play 25, 26, 30 or even 35. 38 is different to 35. Every bit of work that you put, you have to put in doubly hard to earn the right to be there."
"So, I have reduced my strength training sessions. I work differently on mobility and other aspects of life. I do a bit of yoga. It's good," he explained.
However, the story of Ashwin remains incomplete without the mention of Ravindra Jadeja – his loyal Jean Passepartout in bowling and batting for over a decade now.
While Ashwin hogged the limelight for his all-round show – a hundred and six wickets in the Chepauk Test -- Jadeja quietly supported him from the other end, bagging five wickets.
"He's been a very inspirational story. Many of these occasions over the last 3-4 years, when he's walked in to bat, I feel so calm and composed in the dressing room. It's such an inspirational story about how he's found his off-stump, how he's contributed," Ashwin began on his trusted partner.
The veteran off-spinner then went into detail the importance of Jadeja, the fielder.
"Jadeja on the field is a fire. He's a rocket on the field. So, all in all, I envy him. I am jealous of him but totally admire him. I have learnt to admire him for the last 4-5 years, even more than I have in the past,” he said.
But has he ever competed with Jadeja, as it often happens between two contemporaries within the team or otherwise.
The cricket history is replete with such instances – Tendulkar-Lara, Wasim-Waqar, Muralitharan-Warne – of equals competing with each other to race ahead and forming a mutual admiration society along the way.
For Ashwin too, it's a brotherly contest, a healthy one to discover the better self of himself.
"Sometimes, when you're in the race along with your co-cricketers, you want to get ahead of one another, even inside a team. It's like brothers growing in arms, right? And then you slowly start admiring one another."
"Now, that admiration has gone one step higher, knowing that I can never beat Jadeja. So, I'm comfortable in my skin, but totally inspired by what he's done,” he added.
Ashwin also reserved a word of praise for Rishabh Pant, who made a hundred on his return to Test cricket for the first time since 2022.
"I don't think Rishabh's form or ability was ever going to be in question at all. I think the way he's come back and put himself on the field is quite miraculous. I don't think there was any pressure on him."
"He's entertaining. Not the greatest of sights for people sitting behind him to go into bat. I don't know when his turn will come. But yeah, I think he's only going to get better. He's always had the backing of the team,” he added.