Two bad games in the IPL was all that it took for premier Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to realise that bowling in T20s was not as easy as he assumed it to be, the reality hitting him like a “hard slap” a decade back. During a podcast with cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar for ESPNCricinfo, Ashwin spoke about how the 2010 IPL with the Chennai Super Kings affected him, the challenges of bowling in hostile conditions of Australia and England, and why spin twin Ravindra Jadeja is a “natural athlete”.Ashwin recalled the 2010 IPL when he was dropped from the CSK squad after two bad games, which was like a “hard slap”, more so because he felt that coach Stephen Fleming “didn’t talk to him” and he was not backed enough.”People thought that I think highly of myself but flattening of the curve happened when I played in the IPL. It was like a slap in the face like ‘listen boss you are not even here’,” Ashwin said.
