There is an air of confidence when Ravichandran Ashwin talks. It is not over confidence he asserts. It is the level of expectations and the standards he has set for himself as a cricketer and the self-belief he has to achieve those targets that is doing the talking as he simply puts it – “I think all my disappointments, all my improvements the way I talk stems from the fact that I can be excellent.” When Ashwin walks out on the field in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, it would be his 50th ; a number and an occasion that he is proud to be a part of. And what more to bring it on in a place that he has fond memories of. “To come back to a place where I did really well last time in 2015 is like a dream come true because it was some sort of a momentous occasion for me then too,” Ashwin said. “I was on the way back into the Test side and I got a six-for on the first day and went on to get a 10-for on the third day. It brings back a lot of good memories, coming back to the same venue. And 50th test is definitely something that has come about. I am not able to go back and retrace how I did it but I am very grateful to have gotten here. I think every Test match is a blessing from here on.” When asked if anything has changed in the span of two years since the last time he toured the emerald Island, Ashwin said, “For starters, I'm a lot calmer from what I was then. I think I was a little bit more like a cat on a hot tin roof so to say. I was looking forward to performing desperately because sometimes, like I have said, my performances need to be that much more better for me to get anywhere in my career, so I've always lived that way and it's kind of changed me over a period of time. I do take things in the stride - fairly bad days, ordinary days and mediocre days are a part of a cricketer's career. It is important to learn from that and try and get better. I think I've become a far better cricketer than what I was when I came here in 2015. I just hope that if at all I come back again, I would be a far better cricketer than what I am today.” He might have 49 Tests and 275 wickets to his name, but resting on past laurels ain’t Ashwin’s cup of tea. With that also comes an eagerness to learn with each passing day and become a better cricketer. “The most important thing is to try and get better every single day because international cricket is very cruel and it can really sort yout out if you are sitting back on your past laurels. It’s very important to put it behind. Yes, you can have a cup of coffee and think about it and reminisce it really well but it is very important to take one Test match and one day at a time.” “Preparation time and what I want to tick as a cricketer getting into a Test match is pretty much the same. But I think awareness as a cricketer and my general experience, I can very well sense it. Even today at practice, I was aale to sense what sort of an experience I can go into the Test match with. What learnings I can put into practice and how much I have become rounded as a cricketer over the last few years. All these things give me more knowledge and more perspective going into a game. But really I would say these 50 test matches have put me in better stead probably going forward, I don’t know how many I have.” For Ashwin there has never been a case of settling down for mediocrity. It is a constant pursuit for excellence and setting the bar high for himself. He reiterates, that with time, he has only changed for the better and a case of realisation. “As a cricketer I only want to be excellent, I don’t want to be a survivor by any stretch of imagination. If it doesn’t go my way it doesn’t go my way. I can do well in a lot of other careers in my life. I do think I’m intelligent enough to cope on with it. I don’t like to hold onto things desperately. I will only do so until I enjoy it. The day I think I cannot improve any more or cannot be excellent, I cannot perform at the best of my abilities, I don’t think anybody needs to tell me. I’m not a desperate person that way. I have a lot of pride in myself. From then on equations change and equations remain the same but I think it’s only my attitude towards the game and performance that has changed over the years.”