“I always envy him. So gifted, so talented”: R Ashwin’s high praise for his Indian teammate. It’s not Jasprit Bumrah

“Hunting in pairs” is an oft-used maxim about fast bowlers, but Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have given it a new twist and continue to trouble the opposition in more ways than one. The most recent outing of the tango and cash of modern Indian cricket was against Bangladesh in the ongoing first Test here, when they scored 199 runs for the seventh wicket to guide India to 376 runs from a wafer-thin 144 for six. That was a new high even for the Ashwin-Jadeja team, who have recorded three 50-plus stands between them in the past to keep the Indian ship on course.

Ashwin did not hide his admiration for Jadeja. “I always envy him. So gifted, so talented. He has found ways to reach his full potential. I wish I could be him, but I am happy to be myself,” Ashwin told reporters during the press conference in Chennai on Friday.

The Chennai man admitted that Jadeja helped him score his sixth Test hundred at the other end.

“He’s an exceptionally good cricketer. I’m happy for him. And I think that watching his batting over the last few years has also shown me in many ways how I can improve,” he added.

But when it comes to bowling, Ashwin follows a completely different philosophy: he embarrasses the batters with an endless bag of tricks.

Jadeja is more realistic, stays compact and uses subtle changes in line and length to make his gains.

But they have found a way to co-exist for the benefit of the team and last January the pair surpassed Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh’s mark of 501 wickets to become India’s most successful bowling duo.

“He keeps it really simple. He can repeat it (bowling) day after day. So we’ve both grown together. We’ve both done some special things.”

“We really appreciate each other at this stage and are both more happy than ever for each other’s success,” Ashwin explained.

But the matter is not over yet. Now they have to bowl together again in Bangladesh’s fourth innings to secure the victory.

Ashwin, who failed to take a single wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings, which ended on 149, has, in his eyes, already planned the visitors’ downfall.

“I think there’s a little bit more up and down. I’d say the carry is still there. It probably picked up a little bit of pace (today) and then it slowed down again. I really think that if the game even gets to the fourth or fifth day, it’s going to turn around for sure.

“The challenge with this pitch, however, will be to manage the spin as the surface will teach the batsmen their tricks over time,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)