Ravichandran Ashwin has a spring in his stride, and why not. After all, he is coming off an outstanding Test series against the West Indies at the latter’s home. He was India’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps to his name and not far behind in the run charts too falling just 16 short of India’s leading run-scorer in that series - captain Virat Kohli. While those numbers would have done a world of good for his confidence, Ashwin does not want to delve much into past heroics nor think too much about the near future. He assures his mind is ‘blank’ and it is a good space to be in. He is aware of the challenges ahead but pacing himself slowly and getting into the mix. Here’s Ashwin speaking about the tour gone by, the tour ahead and why he is a much mature cricketer now. After anexceptional West Indies tour, has the mind begun to gear up for the upcoming New Zealand series? I can’t really say. There is not a whole lot in terms of mental preparations that has gone into that Test match (first Test against New Zealand) yet. There is still sometime to go for the Test. I am pretty blank and plain and it is a very good space to be in. I am not too worried or excited about the whole deal. Yes, I have had a good tour of West Indies but over my experiences in Test matches, I am pretty clear that whatever has happened has happened and you got to leave it in the past and try and open again fresh. I had a good fifteen-day break; I spent some time at home and family. I am really fresh and looking forward to opening a new page in my career. What are your takeaways from the West Indies tour? It was very hard to bowl in West Indies. For starters, the balls weren’t the greatest and the wickets were really slow, although we had good bounce. It was hard work as the ball got older and older. Myself and Amit Mishra had some very long spells. I tried and adjusted my speeds, the air speeds, some grounds had a very good cross breeze and you had to use the breeze to good effect. It was all about trying and adjusting to the wicket speed and use your body much more and try and use your variations in speeds a lot more. Those were the takeaways from that tour. It could be very similar on the wickets that we are going to play this series. It might be very slow and low. The Kanpur wicket is traditionally slow and low. It doesn’t offer you a whole lot in terms of sideways spin or movement. It is going to be pretty similar with the fact that bounce is out of the game which brings LBW into play and that is something I am looking forward to. Do you have some tricks up your sleeve? Is there scope for experimentation in the longer format? The limited overs format demands some experimentation but not so much in Test cricket. It is only about the format that we are playing. To a greater extent, you don’t have the window space in an ODI or a T20I game to try and repeat the same ball again and again. That is the time you have to be one up on the batsman or try and throw something new every single ball. The demands are higher in a T20 game and slightly lesser in an ODI. But as far as Test cricket goes, being boring and being repetitive is very important. Staying disciplined over a long spell of bowling is very important. That is something that I have come to peace with regards to my own skill and game. I have understood Test cricket a lot better than what I used to probably from two-three years ago. What aspect of your game are you working on at the moment?

I have been working on to try and knock the tail off a little faster. I want to try and polish them off a little bit soon. I have been working on it but the demands are so high that you will have to give enough time and space to your main skills, which is your off-spin bowling and batting. As far as I am concerned, I have worked really hard on both these skills. I have been working really hard on my fitness as well. These are the boxes I am looking to tick and it does take a toll. When you do these things day in and day out; it takes a toll on your body and mind. So trying to do something new again and again in this format is not so very advisable. You do have fond memories of bowling against New Zealand, especially at home, though it was back in 2010 and 2012. Do bowling performances from previous tours matter at all? If you are coming up against similar batsmen, then you can hold some aces up. But, if you are not coming up against the same batsmen, it is a fresh start. They do have some new faces in their team. They have got a fresh crop of spinners who are coming this time. They had Jeetan Patel the last time. Their fast bowlers are pretty similar but the spinners are new. It is very important to stay ahead of the game and know what they will offer and what they will bring to the table in the Test series. As an opposition, what do you think they will bring to the table? New Zealand is one of those teams who believe in their game-plans. They will come prepared and would have done their homework. You can be rest assured that they will not make silly mistakes which some other teams might. They will make mistakes at their own pace rather than actually doing mistakes the way you want them to do. The game-plan is their strength and we have to see what their game plan is. Ideally from whatever I hear, they might play more spinners than what the other teams have traditionally done coming down here in the sub-continent. Probably their batsmen might come down attacking a little bit more which might not be very easy in Indian conditions in Tests. We will have to wait and watch and I am pretty prepared for the New Zealanders who will come prepared with a game-plan and be prepared for us.

Your thoughts on being part of a historic feat in Indian cricket - the 500th Test match.

I think I am in the right place at the right time to be playing the 500th Test match. I didn’t know about this 500th Test match until recently. But knowing that you are going to represent your country in the 500th Test match is a big honour. There is no way I am going to double it up and play the 1000th Test match for the country. I am happy to be representing India in this particular game. Hopefully we will have a great game and it will be a good series ahead.