There is nothing that R Aswhin leaves to chance. He spends time digging into videos, highlights and collects a lot of data as part of his preparations before a match. He is 11 short of 200 Test wickets, but remembers a lot of his Test victims and will tell you the exact number of times he dismissed a leading batsman both at home and away. While his obsession is aimed at improving every day as a bowler (he is World No. 2 currently), Ashwin is also a team man. When India decided to opt for a five-bowler strategy, he gladly took over the responsibility of the No. 6 batsman and scored a century, despite batting at the position for the first time in his career in Antigua. In an interview done by Team India’s Head Strength and Conditioning Coach S Basu and this correspondent, Ashwin gives a peek into his life as a cricketer. You hold an engineering degree (M. Tech from SSN College of Engineering). How has that helped you in your professional career as a cricketer and now when you look back, which one was easier to achieve? Playing cricket was far easier than going to college and doing my engineering degree. I loved playing cricket. When you match professional degrees and professional sport, it is always going to be a challenge. The challenges I faced trying to be an aspiring cricketer and engineer were a lot. I had to go to college for extra hours. It definitely wasn't easy. Looking back at it now, whatever struggles I went through and how as a professional I had to deal with them, has held me in good stead when I came into an environment like this. It made me extremely competitive, it gave me teeth to try and help myself every time I am pushed down and to keep coming back harder. Head Coach Anil Kumble also is an engineer and a spinner. You share many similarities with him. It has been wonderful so far. We have been able to connect really well. He has been able to empathize with me being a spinner as to what he went through when he was a cricketer. Likewise, I am able to see the equal chord we share. More than the professional degree and discussing engineering, we are at peace discussing cricket. He has been a calming influence on me. He has told me all the right things to keep my anxiety levels down as my expectations of my performances are really high. He has helped me in keeping the right balance and at the same time, pushed me at the right time. You’ve been playing cricket with Virat Kohli for the last six-seven years and have seen him transform himself. Talk about the high standards he sets for himself and the team. When Virat Kohli first came in, we almost started playing for India at the same time. The way he was perceived and the way people saw Virat was completely different. It was the transformation from one particular generation to another. There is synergy and the similarity among us is the mutual admiration for each other. To me, he is someone who has taken Indian cricket and Indian sports to another level. He is someone you can take a leaf out of. The fitness levels within the team have undergone change. In the past, people have accused you of not being the fittest. How have you dealt with that?

Criticism is something that is very important, as I have always maintained. It is something not easy to digest. If anyone comes and criticizes anyone, then you are not going to take it too kindly and feel bad about it. If you have the maturity and a bit of calm to understand that criticism is for your good, then you can work on it and try and get better. It has been hard, but whenever people have accused me of something, what I have always thought about is how can I be at the best of my abilities and definitely worked on it. I have had honest conversations with professionals with regards to fitness and tried and ascertained what can work best for me. I am on the pathway to probably getting the best I can.

Do you feel in India is there is a different yardstick for batsmen and bowlers? We seem to be targeting the bowlers far too often. We are not really a bowling country, are we? We are a batting country. Over the years what the previous generation shows and what media writes is what the next generation will grasp. That is one reason why we don't have enough bowling ammunition, but now we do. We now have a very good bowling attack. Generally, we are not being patient with the bowlers. I don't think we understand the psyche of the bowlers as well as we do with batsmen. There have been some discussions on this topic in the team and we have found that we also need to find solace and try and understand that as a bowling group, there will be days when we cannot knock off the opposition. As a batsman you have an off day and cannot perform, the bowlers too can have off days where you cannot close out games. Also, the fact that we haven't really had a big bowling community or a role model in terms of bowling attacks like Australia had when they had the likes of (Glenn) McGrath, (Jason) Gillespie and (Shane) Warne has to do with it. We have not rallied as a bowling community as a country. I think it will change, probably we are the first generation that will (bring about a) change. You spoke about transformation. Is it more technical relating to the finer details of bowling or more broadly on the mental aspect? For anybody to make a transformation or cover great yards, you need to adapt to change and realize that change is the only thing that is permanent in life. There is a set of belief that you don't have to change anything in your career and just keep doing what you are used to over the years. I come from a school of thought where change is the only thing that can drive you towards excellence. As a professional athlete, you should embrace change. You should understand that people will come along the way and try and help you and are there to get the best out of you. If you make use of these people be it the physio, trainer and coaches, I think you hold yourself the best change to get better. You are the sort of a bowler who does a thorough analysis and homework before a match. Has there ever been a time when you have over analysed yourself? What is the tipping point of over analysis is something nobody can give. Unfortunately, everything is bred on success. If you had success, you become genius and if you have not had success, you have over analysed. At what time it (analysis) tips over is something I can judge and make a decision on. My preparations haven't changed in the last five- six years in terms of how I watch videos and how I plan myself as a bowler or a batsman. I have been open to change. I have made changes even one day before a Test with my action or my left arm. These stem from the fact that I understand my bowling much better and I understand the technicality of bowling much better. Over the years, you develop muscle memory and realize what needs to be done before a game or a series. Has that in any aspect changed your preparation then and now. In terms of analyzing for a game or planning for a batsman or planning for a game has been the same. But with respect to having more ammunition as a bowler, having more accuracy and having worked on more different things on my bowling, it just gives me the ammunition to execute my plans better. It is just a 1 or 2 percent variation in length and line which I am able to induce in terms of drift and dip. These are the things that contribute to the plans much better. You might plan so much, but if you are not able to execute to the T, then it means nothing and that is one thing where I have gotten better. Anil Kumble said that when a bowler performs with the bat, it helps in his bowling. Is it about the confidence that one gets or is it about understanding the pitch and the conditions better? As a bowler if you are smart enough, you can pick small cues while you are batting. it is more to do confidence. When you score a hundred, it relaxes you more. You are not desperate anymore to knock off the wickets and are prepared to wait longer. These things make small difference, but if you are smart and analaysing the opposition's bowling, strength and weaknesses, it can give you very important cues.