Ashwin’s confidence impresses England skipper

England captain Alastair Cook has heaped high praise on R. Ashwin, saying India’s premier off-spinner has become a world-class bowler and compared his rapid rise to that of Graeme Swann.

“One of his obvious strengths at the moment is his confidence is sky high (that’s natural) if you have taken the number of wickets that he has done over last year or so in Indian conditions. Cricket is a funny game and a lot of it is played in the mind. He obviously must be flying (high),” said Cook. Ashwin grabbed 27 wickets in a fantastic return in three Tests against New Zealand. Cook said Ashwin had grown as a bowler since 2012, in a case similar to his one-time teammate Graeme Swann who became a better bowler after being ignored for close to a decade since he made his debut.