'All teammates were once friends. Now they’re colleagues': Ashwin exposes sad reality of Team India after WTC final snub

When asked whether he looked for help or a frank conversation with any of his teammates, Ashwin's first reaction was - "It's a deep topic".

It has been a tough time for Ravichandran Ashwin. Despite being the No.1 ranked Test bowler and among the top-10 wickets takers in Test history, Ashwin was ignored for the World Test Championship final against Australia earlier this month which come as a huge blow for the legendary spinner. In tough times as such, besides family, people often look for support from friends in the same profession, most likely in the same team. But when asked about the same, Ashwin exposed a sad reality of Indian cricket in the wake of the WTC final snub.

Ashwin exposed the sad reality of Indian team in the wake of WTC final snub (Getty Images)

Ashwin was snubbed over Umesh Yadav for the big final at The Oval last week against Australia, a tactic that was strongly criticised by veteran cricketers who fumed at captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid. And the decision was long in discussion after India a second successive WTC final, by 209 runs.

When asked in the interview with Indian Express whether he looked for help or a frank conversation with any of his teammates, Ashwin's first reaction was - "It's a deep topic". He explained that with the immense competition in the team for every slot, the words friendship has taken a back seat in the Indian dressing room.

" This is an era where everybody is a colleague. Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they’re colleagues. There’s a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So nobody’s got the time to say, ‘okay, boss what are you up to’?" he said.

Ashwin opined that while it's better for the team when players share their technique and journey, nothing even remotely close to that happens in the Indian team. He summed it up saying: "It’s an isolated journey".

"In fact, I believe cricket gets better when you share it. It gets better when you when you understand another person’s technique and another person’s journey. But it doesn’t happen anywhere close to how much it must happen. Nobody will come for your help. It’s an isolated journey. Of course, you can reach any professional you want to, tap into some coach, you can pay and go, practice, try to feed of them and all that. But sometimes we forget that cricket is a very self-taught sport," he added.

Moving on from Test cricket and with India having no international action until mid-July, Ashwin has now shifted his focus to Tamil Nadu Premier League where he currently leading the Dindigul Dragons in the 2023 season.