Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra: Who were behind their success?

Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra have been exceptional in India's first two Tests against Sri Lanka.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra’s progress in India’s tour of Sri Lanka have made everyone back home happy. However, there are three men who are more satisfied with the duo’s performances. Sunil Subramaniam, who played 74 First-Class matches for Assam and Tamil Nadu, have been working with Ashwin for many years now. On the other hand, there is Laxman Sivaramakrishnan have been working with Amit Mishra for some time. Adding to that, the duo are happy that the bowlers are being guided by Bharat Arun in the national side. “That’s 35 years of friendship,” Sivaramakrishnan is quoted as saying by DNA. Ravichandran Ashwin has potential to take 600-700 wickets in 100 Tests, opines Muttiah Muralitharan

Speaking about Ashwin’s success in Sri Lanka, Subramaniam said, “First, he was blessed with a baby girl recently. In our culture, we believe that a daughter brings luck. Secondly, Ashwin has developed the art of imparting side-spin on the ball. I spoke to Ashwin after the second Test. He told me his performance in the second innings (5 for 42) was clearly his best ever. I have sensed so much happiness in his voice after an overseas Test.” Virat Kohli out of top 10, Ravichandran Ashwin climbs to 8th spot in new ICC Test rankings

“It has surely made the other teams sit up and take notice. Come on, it’s never happened before. Nobody gets a great batsman like [Kumar] Sangakkara out four consecutive times,” added Subramaniam. Virat Kohli: Ravichandran Ashwin has been a champion bowler for India

“You expect an offie to do well against lefties. But Ashwin has bowled extremely well against right-handers too. He has put his body to good use, got the ball to drift just outside off and used enough side-spin or over-spin to bring the ball into the batsmen. The Thirimanne dismissal in the first Test was all about that. The batsman tried to work the ball towards the leg side, but the ball took the leading edge. It was Ashwin at his best.” Ravichandran Ashwin becomes highest wicket-taker for India in Sri Lanka in a Test series

Sivaramakrishnan played nine Tests and 16 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in the 1980s. Speaking about Mishra, Sivaramakrishnan said, “Look, he is an experienced bowler. But he was rushing into the delivery. I told him to take it easy and take it slow. If you see now, Mishra takes his time to bowl. He is nicely transferring his body weight from the left leg to his core muscles and into the bowling arm. In short, he is using his body to good effect. This is helping him grip the ball better and get a lot of purchase from the wicket,” Sivaramakrishnan said. Virat Kohli boosted my confidence: Amit Mishra

Speaking about being guided by Arun in the national side, Subramaniam said, “If there’s something Arun does not know about the art of bowling, then I say it’s not worth knowing. That’s Arun. And that’s why he has the top job. Ashwin and Mishra have their personal coaches, but it’s thanks to Arun that they are executing their plans beautifully.”