Veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has been around for 14 years in international cricket, has bagged 744 wickets from 281 games, and he’s always been fiercely independent on the field. While most modern cricketers are virtually dependent upon coaches, Ashwin likes to take his own course since he believes over-dependence on outside guidance will suppress a player’s instincts for innovation and adaptation.
His view fundamentally differs from the better-developed coaching systems in sports, in which so many players repose their faith in their mentors. While, for Ashwin, the coaches could provide valuable support, they shouldn’t be crutches that held back a player’s growth.
He says on the matter in a recent interview, “One must keep an open mind and not get too attached to one mentor or any one way.”. “Most players are very heavily reliant on coaches or mentors or one person, which again is a very dangerous trend because latching on to people and over-dependency can cause you not to be able to open up to new ideas,” he told Business Insider. For Ashwin, it is all about balance between guidance and self-reliance.
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Coaches like WV Raman and Tamil Nadu legend S Badrinath played a big role in Ashwin’s cricketing development, but he never allowed his association with them to become one of dependency. He attributes that freedom and opportunity to discover the game to Raman, who mentored him without fixing a path for Ashwin to follow.
“People can be there to help. But they cannot guide you through in your career. You will have to be open to fresh ideas. For me, WV allowed me the freedom to express and try new things,” Ravichandran Ashwin said, in the most conscious way one can show personal growth and exploration.
A @PTI_News interview of @ashwinravi99#CricketTwitterhttps://t.co/caqzTsxg4Q
— Kushan Sarkar (@kushansarkar) August 21, 2024
Ravichandran Ashwin also came down heavily on modern coaching philosophies that tend to apply a one-size-fits-all approach, saying that copying successful techniques from one player and imposing them on the other ignores the uniqueness of each cricketer.
“One modern-day coaching philosophy which I totally disagree with, is the fact that they try to copy-paste the same technique (solution) which has worked for another cricketer,” he added, saying that individual challenges need individual solutions.
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While some players have performed well by being put through strict coaching regimens, Ashwin says that in many cases this tends to shut the mind of a player off from the possibility of new possibilities. He insists that cricket is constantly throwing new challenges at the players, and they need to be able to find their answers on their own.
“As a cricketer, you constantly are thrown up with new challenges, so you must be able to find your own answers,” Ravichandran Ashwin concluded on self-sufficiency in an ever-changing sport.
