Ravichandran Ashwin is not ready to fight people’s perception of him any more. He just wants to enjoy his cricket.

“I’m really happy with where I am in life. If people want to perceive me as someone who intellectualises bowling, great... I’ve always fought a level of perception in my life about what people think of me. But in the last five-six years, I’ve actually not cared about it,” Ashwin, in his typical style, said after reaching the 500-wickets landmark on Friday, the second day of the third Test.

“I can’t keep proving everybody wrong or I can’t prove everybody right. I’m glad that somebody is happy and somebody is not, but I need to be happy. I’m in a really, really good space in my life and I want this to continue. And I don’t want to let go of the love for the game.”

Recalling the “dark phase” of his life when he had even contemplated retirement, what makes Ashwin happier is his love for cricket which has been re-ignited.

“At one point in my life, I was in a really dark phase and I didn’t want to watch the game. That’s not where I want to go ever again.

“I’m happy to watch the game. Last night (Thursday), I watched the highlights of the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka game (third ODI) and New Zealand versus South Africa (Test) live. So this is who I want to be,” Ashwin stated.

What does this milestone mean to him? “I don’t exactly know where to begin because I was an accidental spinner. I wanted to be a batter all along. Life gave me a chance, and when I walked into the CSK (Chennai Super Kings) dressing room, Muthiah Muralidaran didn’t want to bowl with the new ball. And, eventually, I got tossed the new ball.

“I had a reasonable first-class start to my life. But nevertheless, the stage in the IPL made me visible to a lot of people, and I eventually got my Test debut. People doubted whether I could be a Test bowler, but yeah, 10-13 years later, not a bad achievement,” Ashwin said.