Learning on the go is helping me: Ravichandran Ashwin opens up on rapid improvement in batting skills

Even at the age of 35, Ravichandran Ashwin is someone who is constantly improving as a cricketer. The veteran off-spinner has not only become a more consistent and reliable bowler across formats but to the surprise of many, he has also made rapid strides in his batting.

In the recently concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Ashwin was trusted by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to bat at number three on various occasions. Ashwin stunned his former franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with a match-winning knock of 40 in just 23 balls in the last league stage game of the encounter.

Ashwin's impressive all-round season helped him earn a return to the Men in Blue in T20I cricket after almost seven months for the tour of West Indies. The senior Indian cricketer played a big role in helping India register a massive 68-run win over the hosts. Ashwin took two wickets with the ball while giving away just 22 runs while also playing an important cameo that saw him score 13 runs in 10 balls.

Talking about his improvement with the bat after the match in an interaction with Dinesh Karthik on BCCI.TV, Ashwin claimed learning on the go has helped him immensely. “Cameo was fine. I have been working on my batting. Even before the game, I communicated with you (Karthik) as to what we will be doing if we are batting together. A little bit more communication, understanding and learning on the go with the batting is starting to help me a lot more," said Ashwin.

"(I am) understanding game situations. Even today (Friday), I came on the ground and asked you how you would hit those balls that are slightly slower, off-pace and back of length," he concluded.

The second and third T20I of the series will be played on Monday and Tuesday in ST Kitts. After that the series will move to Florida for the last two games.