CHENNAI: Lanky medium-pacer Aswin Crist has made a remarkable comeback into the Tamil Nadu T20 team after a gap of three years. He was out of action due to back stress fracture.The 26-year-old Aswin was impressive in the practice games where he was nippy and had good control, earning the praise of S Vasudevan, chairman of the state selection committee. He is keen to make up for the lost years with an impressive show for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that begins on January 10, 2021. “Happy, excited and geared up to play for Tamil Nadu once again. I’m eager and looking forward to contributing to the team’s success,’’ said an elated Aswin.
Bowlers, who come back after a stress fracture, generally have a modified action and some even cut pace for accuracy. “I worked really hard to bowl again. I am bowling pretty well now, hitting the deck. Yes, my bowling action has been slightly fine-tuned. But I am bowling at the same pace. I will never sacrifice pace as it is my strength,’’ added Aswin.
Generally during such a long lay-off cricketers tend to have self-doubts and lose belief in their ability. “I had self-doubts at the start. But after a point, I overcome them because I knew eventually I was going to fight this out and comeback. I always believed in my ability and was confident of making a comeback thanks to the support of my parents, TNCA and India Cements,’’ said the pacer.
Rehabilitation period is the toughest for a sportsperson as he/she has to undergo the process alone. At times, it gets monotonous and mentally challenging. “I underwent surgery. It was done by Rowan Schouten, a surgeon from Christchurch. The rehab process was slow to begin with. It was a boring and mentally challenging process. All my fellow mates would go out and play matches for the state and club while I would be doing rehab most of the time all by myself. I thank Satheesh and Dayle Shackel for monitoring my rehab process,’’ he said.