'Ashwin will get better as he plays more abroad'

In what can be termed as one of the biggest compliments for R Ashwin, former India skipper Anil Kumble said the off-spinner reminded him of himself while on the field of play.

Kumble was speaking on the eve of his induction into the ICC’s Hall of Fame here at the MCG on Sunday. “As far as the attitude on the field, I sometimes see Ashwin and see myself in him, when he's bowling and batting,” said the former leg-spinner.

“He's a better batsman than me, that's for sure. But yeah, I can see that grit, I can see the determination, I can see he wants to just hang around and then do it for the team, so I see a lot of me in Ashwin. I think he's a fantastic cricketer, has achieved a lot in a short span,” said Kumble.

Kumble also backed Ashwin to come good on foreign pitches. “Of course there have been some question marks like how I had question marks when I played outside of India,” he pointed out. “Same thing is there with Ashwin as well, but he can only get better if he starts playing outside India.

If he doesn't play outside India, he'll never get better. So I see certainly Ashwin as someone who I believe has everything to be a fantastic cricketer for India.”

Kumble called for equal of treatment of bowlers along with batsmen when it comes to picking the team. “I certainly feel that we have good spinners,” he began. “We have to give them opportunities. If we don’t give them opportunities, they can’t get better outside India.

When we travel, we always get to hear we don’t have spinners, we don’t have bowlers. If you have to get 20 wickets, play the same guys who get you 20 wickets in India. Only if they play will you know if they can get 20 wickets or not. But if you don’t play them, how will they get wickets? It will be very difficult for them to improve.

“If you are playing four bowlers, bowl your four best bowlers. You don’t pick batsmen thinking that he can’t play on fast wickets or outside India or on turning tracks. You pick them believing they can adjust.

When you don’t pick batsmen on the basis of pitches, you should not pick bowlers on the basis of pitches either. According to me, you must pick the bowler who can adapt to the pitch. If you do so, they will get the confidence. And cricket is a confidence game,” he explained.