India's Ashwin reveals how he bounced back from the WTC final snub

The constant search for excellence has pushed Ravichandran Ashwin to new heights but by his own admission, it has also been "incredibly draining".

Ashwin, the world's number one Test bowler, put the disappointment of being dropped from the World Test Championship final with a 33rd five-wicket haul in the first Test against the West Indies on Wednesday.

The 36-year-old also became the third Indian to reach the 700-wicket milestone in international cricket and is only behind Harbhajan Singh (707 wickets) and Anil Kumble (953) in the all-time list.

After the close of play on day one, the wily off-spinner, who also thinks deeply about the game, was asked about his long journey in international cricket and the ups and downs along the way, including the recent exclusion from the WTC final against Australia.

"There is no cricketer or human being in this world that has gone through the highs without the lows. When you have the lows, it gives you two choices, either you sulk or talk about it and then complain about it and go along with it and go down. Or you learn from it. So I'm someone who's constantly learnt from my lows," he said.

Considering the overcast conditions at The Oval last month, India made the tough call of leaving out Ashwin from the playing eleven for an extra pacer. The decision was widely debated before India came up short in their second successive WTC final.

Ashwin was naturally disappointed.

"I've spoken about it. It's very tough as a cricketer when you have a shot at the WTC final and end up sitting out. But what is the difference between me and another person if I also end up sulking in the dressing room," he said.

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