R. Ashwin says it is too early to comment on Rahul Dravid’s coaching style but feels reassured that happiness will be back in the dressing room under the stalwart’s guidance.
Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as head coach and his stint began with the ongoing Twenty20 series between India and New Zealand.
“It’s too early for me to comment on Rahul Dravid’s coaching style, but he’s put the hard yards in through the U-19 level,” Ashwin told the official broadcaster after India’s five-wicket win on Wednesday.
“He won’t leave much to chance, and he’ll be all about preparation and process, so that we can bring the happiness back into the Indian dressing room,” he added.
Commenting on the first T20, won by India by five wickets , Ashwin said he realised that taking the pace off the ball was working wonders for him. “The slower you bowled, there was more purchase you got on this pitch. If you hit the seam and tossed it up, it did do things like Santner showed in the second innings (sic),” he said.
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“It’s tricky in T20s, you can’t miss your lengths and you don’t know when to toss it up but here it did help to give it some air.”
Given a manageable 165-run target, Ashwin thought India will cross the line quite early and the match would not go into the final over. “It was a slightly under-par score and we thought 170-180 would be par. We thought we would cruise home around the 15th over, but that’s T20 cricket for you. I bowled the first over in the Powerplay, and figuring out the pace to bowl is important and it took me some time to figure that out.
“It's about varying to pace and knowing when to vary it. It’s important to take each of the 24 balls as an event, and look at each ball in isolation and as an opportunity,” he said.
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