Mohali: Although R Ashwin is only the third Indian cricketer to have scored 500 runs and taken 50 wickets in a single season, Jonny Bairstow, while praising the Indian off-spinner, said that the England side is not in awe of him.
When Bairstow was asked about Ashwin winning a mind game over Alastair Cook, he was quick to defend his captain.
"First of all, Cook's gone onto to the top-10 of the most runs scored by any Test batsman. So I don't think there is much problem from his end. He has scored a heck of a lot of runs over a heck of a long period of time against any attack in the world," said Bairstow.
But Bairstow did praise Ashwin, terming him someone who has lot of tricks up his sleeve but also made it clear that they are not in awe of the Indian off-spinner.
"Look Ashwin is a quality bowler. He is a bowler who has got a lot of tricks and lot of variations. He varies his pace really well, his trajectory is different at all times. So at some point you got to give credit to the bowler as well.
"Yeah he (Ashwin) is bowling nicely but it's not that he has got 10-for in every innings he has played against or things like that so as unit he is just as Yadav. Yadav has got wickets too, Jadeja has got wickets so we treat him as the same way like we do to every other bowler that we come across," said Bairstow.
