'I should've never become a bowler': Ashwin's distressing remark in reaction to Gavaskar's old ‘horses for courses’ rant

India legend Sunil Gavaskar was left fuming at captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid when No.1 ranked Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin was dropped from the India XI for the World Test Championship final against Australia last week at The Oval. It certainly wasn't the first time Ashwin faced the axe on overseas soil despite the numbers and it wasn't the first time Gavaskar showed his support towards the bowler. Back in 2021, during the series in Australia, Gavaskar had explained a certain “horses for courses” rule that only applies to bowlers. A week since the heartbreaking WTC final snub Ashwin reacted to Gavaskar's rant.

In his column for Sportstar, the former India captain had cited Ashwin as an example to explain that if the bowler fails to perform as per his standards, he is immediately dropped from the next game while the same does not apply for a batter.

“For far too long Ashwin has suffered not for his bowling ability of which only the churlish will have doubts, but for his forthrightness and speaking his mind at meetings where most others just nod even if they don’t agree. If Ashwin doesn’t take heaps of wickets in one game, he is invariably sidelined for the next one. That does not happen to established batsmen though,” Gavaskar had written. “That’s Indian cricket. Different rules for different people. If you don’t believe me ask Ravi Ashwin and T. Natarajan.”

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Speaking to Sportstar in the wake of the WTC final snub, Ashwin was asked in an interview whether Gavaskar was right about the rule. The veteran offie explained with a Sachin Tendulkar example before revealing that he on retirement, he would regret not having been a better batter.

"This is a true story and I don’t talk from something made up. One day, I was seeing the India-Sri Lanka game and India’s bowling was in tatters. My favourite was Sachin Tendulkar, and whatever runs he used to make, we used to leak those runs with the ball. I used to think - one day, I must be a bowler. Can’t I be better than the bowlers that are there currently? This is a very childish way to think but that is how I thought and that is why I started bowling off-spin. This is where it began," he said.

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"However, tomorrow when I hang up my boots, the first thing I will regret is having been such a fine batter, I should have never become a bowler. This is something, a perception I have constantly tried to fight but there are different yardsticks for bowlers and batters. And there are different ways of treatment. I understand, for the batter, it is a one-ball game and they require the opportunity."

Ashwin, who has over 400 wickets in Test cricket, admitted that he knew he would get fewer opportunities to prove his worth in Indian team, and despite the "unfair treatment", he has accepted the fate.

"Some people will get 10 matches, some people will get 15, some people will get 20. The day I wore the Indian colours I knew I will get only two. So I was prepared for it. It’s not that it is some unfair treatment meted upon me. The only reason for my improvement or where I stand in how I play my cricket right now is that I have accepted that I will get only two Test matches. I don’t want to go back home and say ‘Boss, he got 15 and I got two’. I don’t want to do that because all I can control is who I am and what I can do."