R Ashwin during a practice session in Galle yesterday

He will bowl all day if you ask him to, bat much longer than most lower-order batsmen care to in the nets, and once you get him talking, Ravichandran Ashwin can talk a great game of cricket as well. Fortunately for India, Ashwin's talk, which has occasionally led to him being misquoted or misunderstood, is backed up by solid numbers on the field.