'I am a big reason...': R Ashwin breaks silence on India's 'embarrassing' 0-3 whitewash at home vs New Zealand

Ravichandran Ashwin played a pivotal role in India's unprecedented streak of winning 18 consecutive home Test series over a span of 12 years. However, the legendary Indian bowler was visibly disheartened when this remarkable run came to an end after New Zealand's remarkable victory on Indian soil, resulting in a 3-0 whitewash of the Rohit Sharma-led team.

This defeat marked the first instance of India suffering a whitewash at home in a Test series consisting of three or more matches. Ashwin, who is considered one of the greatest bowlers in the history of Indian cricket, had a disappointing performance in this series, managing to take only nine wickets in three matches against the Black Caps.

The 38-year-old cricketer wasted no time in shouldering the blame for the team's poor showing and acknowledged that his own performance was a significant factor in the embarrassing outcome. In addition to his bowling struggles, Ashwin also acknowledged his failure to contribute runs with the bat in the lower order as a contributing factor to the team's decline in fortunes.

"We have been hit by a 3-0 loss to New Zealand. I read that it has never happened in India in history. I don't know how to react to it. I know that in my career and in my experience in cricket, we don't have so many emotions when we play. But it's a very shattering experience. That's the right word for it. I didn't know how to react or respond to it for the last 2-3 days," said Ashwin on his Youtube channel.

"I expect a lot from myself. I am a guy who says I am the reason for everything that went wrong. I am also a big reason and a big part of it (series loss). I couldn't contribute to the lower-order runs. As a bowler, I know that runs are a vital currency for a bowler. I started well in many places, then I threw it away on a couple of occasions. I put my best but it wasn't enough," he added.

Ashwin, who garnered attention for his exceptional batting performance during the Bangladesh series in September where he scored a century in the Chennai Test, was unable to replicate his success against New Zealand. The Indian cricket icon only managed to score 51 runs in six innings, averaging 8.50.

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