I was keen to learn how to bowl the flipper from Imran Tahir: Murugan Ashwin

The debut season for the Rising Pune Supergiants leg spinner the has revealed that he learned the secrets of flipper from South African spinner Imran Tahir.

Ashwin had a pretty productive time this season. He was given ample chances to play by his skipper MS Dhoni and managed to impress many with his bowling skills. The Tamil Nadu spinner played 10 games and snapped 7 games before getting swapped for Adam Zampa.

The 25 year old felt that Tahir bowled the flipper very well and he had been keen to learn the skill from the South African.

“While he was looking to fine tune his googly, I was keen to learn how to bowl the flipper from him. Tahir is someone who bowls it very well, and he didn’t mind sharing the secrets of his skill,” he told TOI.

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Ashwin revealed that Tahir had wanted to learn the googly from him, saying, “I got to know him during India’s ODI against South Africa at Chepauk last year. Tahir was watching me closely when I was bowling at the nets to the South Africa players. He came up to me and praised the way I was bowling especially the googly. I showed him the grip I use while bowling a googly and he was keen to learn,”

The IPL this year was a breakthrough tournament for the young leg-spinner and he felt that it had been a learning curve for him.

“To have played alongside a host of international stars and be captained by one of the best — MS Dhoni, I couldn’t have asked for more. The biggest takeaway for me was these stars’ involvement with the game. The way they train, maintain their diet and prepare for a game was something I learnt,” said the young leg-spinner.

Murugan Ashwin also commented on the influence his namesake, Ravichandran Ashwin had on him during his time with the RPS.

He said, “We speak the same language, so it’s easier to connect. He told me about bowling at different periods of play and it was fascinating to listen to him.”