Virat Kohli has done a wonderful job of handling the bowlers beautifully: Bharat Arun

How satisfying was it to see your bowlers take 20 wickets in each of the three Tests in Sri Lanka, and win the series 2-1?
This is what the whole idea of playing five bowlers in a Test is all about. It comes from the captain, who has always said that we play to win and we need to take those 20 wickets. More so with Sri Lanka being hot and humid conditions, for four bowlers to do it over a period of five days can be pretty taxing. If we need to win Test matches outside the country and also in India, if you have five bowlers – ideally it could be four bowlers and a good all-rounder where Stuart Binny fit in that slot beautifully, he did a good job on this tour, he got timely runs and chipped in with crucial wickets through some tight bowling – this is something that we stuck with initially. Even when we lost the first Test, we as a team, especially the captain (Virat Kohli) and the director (Ravi Shastri) were extremely confident about the five-bowler theory. In the end, it proved. Three Test matches,  60 wickets. They tell the story. 

Does the five-bowler theory put you under pressure? 
Not exactly. No matter how many bowlers play, it is very important to do well in a Test match. Yes, there is always some pressure. Test match is a game where there is pressure. How we handle pressure is extremely important. And also, bowling in partnership is something which is very important in a Test. You cannot have one bowler bowling well and the other bowler leaking runs.  Then the whole pressure (on the opposition) is off. We realised that and the bowlers spoke with each other. They understood what each one's strength was and the areas they need to attack, at times we need to stop the flow of runs. These are the situations which we really need to understand. That's where Virat (Kohli) has done a wonderful job in reading the situations and handling the bowlers beautifully. At every given point, we were bowling well in partnerships and that is exactly what has been very good for us. Identifying those bowlers is extremely important, as is making the right bowling changes, setting the field. Maybe there are times when a bowler is not going through a great spell but through imaginative field setting, you can make that bowling effective too. That was part of the strategy and Virat excelled in that.

Ashwin has been a revelation. What have you been working on him that has made him click?
Ashwin is one of the best spinners in world cricket today. It is about the awareness that he can do. That is very important for a bowler to understand, the increased awareness. Ashwin has got that. Awareness like when you use the crease, how the ball behaves; when you bowl from wider angle, understanding his hand, understanding the various positions of his wrist. This is what he has been working on. Our job is only giving feedback. Once they understand how they are doing it, their awareness increases. These bowlers already bring a huge amount to the table. I am not going to teach Ashwin new things but I can help him become more aware of what he is doing. This awareness leads to understanding yourself as a bowler. The more you are able to understand yourself, the better you are able to exploit whatever talent you have. It is all about becoming more aware and now I will only say his awareness has increased.

What was he doing different?
Nothing differently. He understands how the ball is behaving in flight. Even when he does flight the ball, there is a lot of drift and also when he is bowling with a lower trajectory as well, he is pretty effective. So, he is putting the different trajectories to a very good use. Also, he can now bowl the straighter one. On a turning track, to bowl one that comes straight is going to be a very difficult ball (to face). He does that at will. Not only the straighter one, he also bowls the one that drifts in beautifully, especially when the ball is a lot newer. These are the things he has tried a lot in the nets. Once you keep trying, that is the journey when you discover yourself as a spinner. There is so much more you can do by doing a few things, but it is important to understand what you need to do to achieve that. Ashwin is trying and understanding what he is doing. He is improving and getting better by the day and this is something really healthy.

But he went wicketless in the first innings at SSC. Was it because of the conditions helpful to the pacers?
Fast bowlers were taking wickets. They were reduced to 47/6. Fast bowlers had already picked up wickets. There was one good partnership. That is understandable. Also, we had Amit Mishra, the silent performer, someone with close to 500 first-class wickets, knows the knack of taking wickets. He is bringing in the experience. He can bowl the googly well. He can bowl a very good top-spinner. And, he uses the angle very well. This makes him an extremely potent bowler. Also, for a leg-spinner, he is very miserly. He does not concede too many runs. He is very very consistent for a leg-spinner. A leg-spinner being so consistent is a huge asset for the team.
Of course, Ishant is not only bowling quick, he has got the bounce and also using the seam excellently. These are the three combinations required for a fast bowler to do well, and Ishant is doing now. He is constantly clocking 140kph, he always had the extra bounce. And also, now he is getting the ball to move a lot more. A bowling attack like this is very, very good for Indian cricket.

Going back to Ashwin, it took him 10 overseas Tests to take his first five-wicket haul outside India...
He is extremely confident. His increased awareness, as I said, has helped him become the bowler that he is today. We, as coaches, help him give the right feedback through videos and dialogue to increase the awareness. More often, what they do and what they think they are doing are two different things. When they match those two, and that comes with more awareness using video technology, the performance can only get better.

You mentioned about bowling in partnerships. Are there identified partnerships in this team?
By partnerships, I meant whoever is bowling well at that particular time. It is about understanding what is required of the bowler at that particular point. If Ashwin is bowling very well from one end, the bowler from the other end should keep it really tight so that you are not giving the batsmen anything. You are not giving him runs plus you are making his time at the crease difficult. If you are not able to match your partner's capacity, what you can do is stem the flow of runs. Once you do that, there is pressure being created on the batsmen. Sometimes you win, there are situations when you don't. That is Test cricket. We did it more often than not.

Can the Ashwin-Mishra pair become deadly in all conditions?
Definitely. Even Ishant can be dangerous on a seaming track. On a flat wicket, he can get the ball to reverse. On a turning track where the ball grips, he will be effective. It is the challenge to bowl on any track. If you are skilful, we should be able to extract something from the track. In the third Test, the role of the spinners was reversed as the fast bowlers were more attacking and getting wickets. The spinner stems the flow of runs. Whereas in the earlier Test matches, the role of fast bowlers was to stem the flow of runs while the spinners were a lot more attacking. The roles keep changing. It is about identifying what is required at that point in time and doing to the best of your ability. 

It took a long time for Ishant to take 200 Test wickets – 65 Tests. What was the problem with Ishant and what were the adjustments he made?
As I said, it is about increased awareness, understanding different positions. Ishant always had the bounce. He has troubled the best of batsmen. In Australia, he had fitness issues when he had to return home and miss the World Cup. Since then, he has worked exceptionally hard on his fitness. It is complementing his bowling right now. He was always good. Now he is extremely fit. And, he has got pretty good experience as well.

Why do fast bowlers waver in their careers? Rarely we see fast bowlers remain consistent throughout their career.
It is all about injuries and also the need to be monitored well. Your physical fitness and skill should complement one another. If you overdo one and neglect the other, it will have a telling effect. If you bowl too much and physically, you are not strong enough to take the load, that also results in injury. It is the balancing factor that is extremely important. The balance between managing work loads, having the right physical preparation, skill and adequate rest. All are needed for a bowler to sustain over a period of time.

Ishant was all aggression in Sri Lanka and has been suspended for the next Test. What is aggression supposed to be for a fast bowler?
I don't think you should curtail aggression. It is important for a fast bowler to be aggressive. The anger and aggression should come out in the form of the deliveries that one bowls, which, Ishant is doing. He is bowling exceptionally well. It is good to be angry. But that anger needs to be converted and put into the ball. Just the stare is enough.

How eager was Amit Mishra to play Tests after a long gap. He also played a crucial role in India's win, didn't he?
Mishra always has been extremely confident about what he can perform. He must be really talented to take close to 500 wickets in first-class cricket. Mishra needed the confidence and that came in truckloads from the captain and the director. The captain instantly made him feel he was a champion and that he could deliver. That kind of confidence coming from the captain goes a long way in the bowler not thinking about holding his place in the team but thinking of performing. He has been in and out of the team. Whether you like it or not, I am sure it will work on anyone's mind. If you can eliminate that fear out of a person, what remains is only you looking at performing. Initially, he was anxious to perform. But once he got wickets, he felt a lot better. Now that Mishra has got that confidence, and the variety and experience he has, it really augurs well for Indian cricket.

Where does that leave Harbhajan Singh?
Harbhajan Singh has been really working hard and he has got a lot more years of good cricket in him. He is exceptional in his ability as his records suggest.

Your thoughts on the other bowlers – Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron, Bhuvneshwar Kumar?
Umesh is somebody who is fast, who can move the ball and also very good with the old ball. He is working extremely hard on being consistent. With all these qualities, Umesh can be a huge asset to this team. He is clocking 140kph effortless and can move the ball, which is a very potent combination.
Aaron is really quick, he will definitely learn to be a lot more consistent. He is an excellent prospect. Bhuvi is an extremely talented bowler who can move both ways consistently. He is also a useful bat and with consistency, can become a more-than-useful all-rounder.

Should not Aaron be playing more matches to gain in confidence?
Definitely yes. It is about the art of taking wickets. The more matches he plays, the more experience he gets, the more wickets he gets and he will grow in confidence. Now he is fast. That pace needs to be channelised in the areas where you want and should know how to set up a batsmen. Once you do that, the pace will be outstanding.

Since you first joined the Indian team in England last year for the ODIs, how much has the bowlers' mindset changed?
The mindset has always been the same. They have always been aggressive. They have always bowled well. The challenge is not only in bowling well but doing it more consistently with the challenges we all set for ourselves. We try to do it everywhere. Every time we go on to bowl, we try and be more and more consistent. That is something which we are enjoying as a bowling unit. We take a lot of pride in everyone's success. There is a genuine enjoyment in each other's performance. And when you start enjoying, it is a lot better. That makes a lot of difference.

We often hear about batsmen getting into 'bad habits' due to too much of T20? Can bowlers also get into bad habits?
Of course. It is about revisiting the basics all the time. No matter what you do, it is important that every bowler does the basics all the time. That will ensure you don't allow bad habits to creep in. For example, bowling on certain kinds of wickets, you need to do a particular thing. Once you play on those wickets, you develop a certain pattern. When you go to another wicket, you have to identify and change the pattern. To do that, you have to revisit the basics.