CHENNAI: "If we had lost the game, the first question that I would have been asked was why Sreesanth and why not Ashwin?" MS Dhoni's comment in the prize distribution ceremony of the World Cup final said it all.
Ashwin was easily one of the most talked-about cricketers of the World Cup, despite the fact that he had played only two games.
The Chennai offie performed brilliantly in the games against West Indies and Australia and was always in the fray for a place in the final XI in the games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The team management felt that the Asian teams play spin well, and that's why he had to miss out, but one thing is for certain, Ashwin has all but sealed the second spinner's slot in the Indian ODI squad.
"I was probably close to playing the final, but it didn't happen. Obviously playing the game is different to sitting on the sidelines, but it doesn't matter now... We had won the World Cup and that was all we were looking for," Ashwin told the TOI.
Ashwin knows that the whole country discussed him even though he didn't get a game in the initial phases, but he looked at the lighter side of it.
"It's funny to be discussed so much without even bowling a delivery," Ashwin added. The most prized scalp for Ashwin was Shane Watson's in the high-voltage game against Australia, which pegged the former world champions back.
"I really felt good taking that wicket. And then, when you get Ricky Ponting, it's the icing on the cake. I'll cherish the Ahmedabad experience all my life," Ashwin said.
After that game, Ashwin got a memento which is his "most prized possession". "I got a stump signed by Sachin Tendulkar. I have played only two games with him and this is one memento that I will never lose," the offie sounded emotional.
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