‘Teammates were friends once’: Ashwin reveals flipside of competitiveness

India's decision to exclude Ravichandran Ashwin in their eleven against Australia in the recently concluded ICC World Test Championship Final came as a shock to many, especially with the off-spinner being the number one-ranked Test bowler.

But the 36-year-old, who revealed that he knew 48 hours before the match that he would be left out of India's starting line-up, was forced to watch on as Australia won the WTC Final at the Oval by 209 runs.

The right-arm spinner was also one of the standouts in the WTC 2021-23 with 61 wickets in 13 Tests to finish with the third-most victims in the cycle.

"I would have loved to play because I have played a part in us getting there. Even in the last (WTC) Final I got four wickets and bowled really well," Ashwin told the Indian Express and Sportstar.

Asked whether he sought help from his teammates following the setback, Ashwin said that "it's an isolated journey" for a professional in this era of cricket.

"Once upon a time when cricket was played, all your teammates were friends. Now, they're colleagues. There's a big difference because here people are there to advance themselves and to stride ahead of another person sitting to your right or left. So, nobody's got the time to say, 'okay, boss what are you up to'?" he said.

Ashwin further revealed that he was close to retiring between the Border-Gavaskar series earlier this year and the WTC Final due to an ongoing issue with his knee, but is now looking forward as he aims to prolong his career.