‘I made him my obsession for six months’ - R Ashwin reveals how he prepared to counter Steve Smith

Ravichandran Ashwin is the third-highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket. He has picked 427 wickets in 81 Test matches at an average of 24.12.

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Ashwin revealed the tactics that he uses to prepare for a Test series. His answers clearly suggest that why he is regarded as someone who has the smartest cricketing brain. He explained how he uses an application to prepare a strategy for every key player on the opponents’ side, including Steven Smith, Joe Root, and Marnus Labuschagne.

On being asked about his plans for a player like Steven Smith, Ashwin mentioned that he made him his obsession for about six months. He used to watch the entire day’s play to chalk out a plan for him.

“I made him my obsession for about six months, not just two weeks or three weeks. Just footage, just watching different matches,” Ashwin said.

I’d go on to my app and check – how many runs was Labuschagne batting on: R Ashwin

Ashwin also revealed how he watches every single ball in slow-mo and super slow-mo to prepare a plan against a batter. He also said how he used to see every single day’s play and check how Labuschagne plays against every bowler.

“The most recent series Australia played (before India toured Australia in 2020-21) was New Zealand. I went through every single day’s play. I would go on to my app and check – how many runs was (Marnus) Labuschagne batting on when Will Somerville came on to bowl? Which ball did he hit over the cow corner?,” he added.

He further mentioned how Smith uses his hands to bat. Also, he added during the India tour of Australia, the plan against Smith was to disturb his hand pattern. He also mentioned that Smith’s batting is very momentum-driven, and hence, he used unique strategies to set him up.

“… with Steve Smith, his batting is very momentum-driven. Most of his batting comes from his hands, so my whole idea was to disturb his hands through the series. He’s got certain hand-movement patterns. You have to pick them and be able to bowl in a way that disturbs his hand pattern. So, I bowled with different load-ups, different speeds, different run-ups and all that. I realized I kind of got to him,” Ashwin explained.