R Ashwin felt 'absolutely crushed' when Ravi Shastri said Kuldeep Yadav was India's No.1 overseas spinner

Ravichandran Ashwin said that while he was happy for Kuldeep Yadav after the latter took five wickets in the 2019 Sydney Test, the 34-year-old felt like he was being "thrown under the bus" when then head coach Ravi Shastri called Kuldeep India's lead overseas spinner.

Ravichandran Ashwin said that he felt like he was being "thrown under the bus" when then India head coach Ravi Shastri said that Kuldeep Yadav said that Kuldeep Yadav was India's lead overseas spinner after the latter took five wickets in the 2019 Sydney Test against Australia. Ashwin said that recurring injuries meant that he was playing under "excruciating pain" when he took three wickets in each innings to lead India to victory in the first Test.

"The first Test seemed like a distant memory by then," Ashwin told ESPNCricinfo, talking about his mental state by the time of the final Test of the series. "I had taken three of the first four wickets in the first innings after we were bowled out cheaply, and then when it got really flat in the final innings, I plugged away for 50-plus overs and took three wickets despite what turned out to be a grade three abdomen tear. In my mind, I had done something great for the team in excruciating pain, but all I heard was, 'Nathan Lyon took six, Ashwin took three.'"