My ultimate goal is to play for India and nothing short of it, states Aswin Crist

February 14, 2018, Valentine’s Day. As the world was celebrating the festival of love, Aswin Crist stepped onto the field donning the Tamil Nadu jersey in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game. A few good performances would have pushed him for an India-A berth just after his teammate Vijay Shankar made it to the national side. But the narrative doesn’t always hold on to the wishes and life surely had other plans for the Chennai boy.

“I have my ambitions and my goals to complete a few things. As of now, my goal is to play for Tamil Nadu in whatever format - Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare or Ranji Trophy - and the ultimate goal is to play for India and nothing short of that. I have to keep building for that, mentally and physically for that,” Aswin told SportsCafe.

“Plan won’t differ much, we will play to our strengths. Winning a match or winning a tournament depends on how hungry we are as players, that’s what decides the match or tournament in your favour. We will stick to our strengths and as a batsman or bowler, we will continue to back ourselves. Tamil Nadu has the potential to win championships, we just have to get mentally tougher during crunch situations and give our best shot. I would make sure I put my level best for the state and try to get my best intensity out there,” he further added. 

However, for him on a personal level, the perennial aim was always to work on getting back to full fitness and stand true by his strengths - bowling the hard length and getting the ball to do the talking. In modern times, however, that solely doesn’t offer bread and butter to bowlers with the white-ball, which has also made the pacer focus on sharpening his variations. 

Going into the start of the 20-over season, Tamil Nadu would definitely miss one of its jewels, with T Natarajan still Down Under with the Indian team. While admitting that his loss would be a big one for the state side, Aswin stressed on the importance of the team sticking as a unit and performing as a group in the absence of notable names.

“Definitely, if Natarajan was here, it would make a great impact for the team - his line and length, yorkers and everything that he provides. We all miss him, he is an amazing bowler, amazing athlete and a brilliant fielder. In a team sport, no individual is above the team. Even if our international players are or remain unavailable, we should be aiming to perform as a team. But definitely, they will have their own impact on the team.”