'Came into every series with different thinking': Ex-India coach pinpoints 'biggest challenge' while working with Ashwin

It took Ashwin 11 years to eclipse legendary Kapil Dev and the Tamil Nadu cricketer has had his fair share of ups and downs.

Ravindra Jadeja may have swept the attention in Virat Kohli's landmark 100th game in Mohali but Ravichandran Ashwin also managed to leave his mark. The 35-year-old off-spinner picked up six wickets in the series opener before India recorded crushing innings win against Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead. In the process, Ashwin also went past legendary Kapil Dev's tally of 434 wickets to become the country's second-highest wicket-taker. His current tally stands as 436 wickets in the longest format and is ranked number nine among top-10 wicket-takers in world cricket.

India's Ravichandran Ashwin with skipper Rohit Sharma (AP)

It took Ashwin 11 years to reach the milestone and the Tamil Nadu cricketer has had his fair share of ups and downs. His place in the national set-up was in jeopardy at one stage but Ashwin never backed off from adding different elements to his bowling.

Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar also weighed in on Ashwin's evolution as a player and said the spinner used to always think of "doing something different" before returning to his usual self.

"He continuously thinks about his bowling. Mostly my discussions with him have not been about bowling but about batting. My biggest challenge with R Ashwin was that he came into every series with a different thinking or doing something different and then to get him back to his former self," said Bangar in a discussion on Star Sports.

Bangar, who served as the national team's batting coach from 2014 to 2019, also spoke about Ashwin bowling with his old action in the Mohali Test. Bangar feels Ashwin stuck to his off-spin instead of experimenting with carrom ball or leg-spin -- something that he's known for in the recent past.

"If we see the last two years, there was a time in between when he tried to bowl a lot with a front-on action, he had to use his body a lot more that time but here he was bowling absolutely side-on, the loading position was good, the way he started his career," he further added.

"I feel if he continues bowling like this, it will be very difficult to bat against him and to score runs off his bowling."

Ashwin still has a long way to go before he eclipses Anil Kumble (619 wickets) in the elusive Test list. But he can go past Dale Steyn when India take on Sri Lanka in the second Test, a Day/Night contest, in Bengaluru. Steyn has got 439 Test scalps to his name, just three more than Ashwin.