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'I don't know what to tell Rohit and how to react': Ashwin recounts unusual breakfast hall chat with India skipper
A day after India thrashed Sri Lanka in Mohali to take a 1-0 lead in the series, a rather unusual conversation between R Ashwin and Rohit Sharma took place in the breakfast hall.
The first India-Sri Lanka Test at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali will well and truly remain memorable for the Rohit Sharma-captained unit. One of the biggest reasons will be R Ashwin displacing legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev at the second spot in the list of highest wicket-takers for India in the longest format.
Following the culmination of the Test, skipper Rohit lavished rich praise on the senior off-spinner. Ashwin, while speaking to bcci.tv in an interview recently, admitted he gets awkward when it comes to receiving compliments and disclosed how we faced his skipper after that.
"I don't know what to tell Rohit. I am very bad at receiving compliments. I don't really know how to react. Sometimes I can get emotional but I cannot really coin those words when I am emotional. Rohit went out into the press conference and lavished praise on me and I didn't really know how to react until this morning. At the breakfast hall I said that was very sweet of him," Ashwin said in the interview.
To lead his side to an innings and 222 runs win on your captaincy debut is a huge achievement for Rohit. Right-arm spinner Ashwin reserved special praise for the India opener and gave an insight into his leadership.
"Rohit, we all know how tactically strong he is. I saw a lot of human element in the way he led the side. He's looking out for everyone in the team. How everyone is feeling and how everyone's confidence is important for the engine room to function.
"The way he wanted too look after Jayant, the third spinner in the game. He was under bowled but he wanted to look after him and rotate the bowlers. Beyond these tactical things, how simple he was able to keep the game. Even for the declaration- he wanted Jadeja to get a double hundred. Eventually, it was Jaddu who said it's not that important and it's going to take some time. It's not like he is someone new to the leadership ground and I think he did a phenomenal job," Ashwin explained.
India and Sri Lanka will next face off in Bengaluru for the day-night Test. It starts on March 12.
