The recently retired Ravichandran Ashwin is on a roll. Well, not so much as runs or wickets but by his observations on his YouTube channel. Ashwin is one among the topmost thinker of the game. It was a pity that he could never become the captain of the Indian team in any format. He is akin to Shane Warne in terms of his ability to think which will not cross the minds of any ordinary human. Ashwin would have certainly made a better captain than Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli. When CSK pitched for him, I thought it was with an intention of making him the captain but it wasn’t to be. Give him a good team or even a decent team, Ashwin will produce results. Anyway, back to what he spoke on his YouTube channel.
About the pitches
Responding to a comment from analyst Prasanna Agoram that bowlers have become defensive, Ashwin said: “You said bowlers are becoming defensive. I want to talk about that. I think bowlers will soon have to be accompanied by personal psychologists and I genuinely mean that.”
“Okay, people say bowlers are becoming defensive. Let that argument stand. But in several instances, bowling has literally become impossible. On certain grounds, you can’t keep the stumps in play. You mentioned full tosses-but (Yuzvendra) Chahal bowled full tosses to Sai Sudharsan and got away with singles (on Tuesday in Ahmedabad).
“In fact, a full toss isn’t always a bad ball. On some pitches, deliveries that land on the wicket actually make it easier for batters. We all thought full tosses were easier to hit when we were young, but on certain surfaces, the ball pitches and comes onto the bat better than a full toss,” he added.
I have been saying this for a very longtime. Test cricket is alright in the sense that pitches around the world do help the bowlers. In some instances the fast bowlers and in others, the spinners. So long as there is help for either type of bowlers, it is good. However, in white-ball cricket, the situation is completely different. IPL is the worst offender. In the first round, only a couple of scores were less than 200. Now, 200 itself is 10 runs per over. If that is the minimum, just consider the plight of the bowlers.
Bowlers are important, aren’t they?
Bowlers are an important aspect of the game. The otherday, Rabadda opined that the game can be renamed as batting instead of cricket. Most of the Indian grounds are small with a lightning outfield. Even a nudge could run to the boundary. As such, on these pitches, the bowlers simply do not stand a chance. When it comes to IPL, the BCCI and when it comes to international cricket, the ICC must stipulate that bowlers must have assistance. Otherwise, the day will not be far off when teams will be filled with batsmen and allrounders.
The awards
“In the IPL presentation show, there are at least 10 awards that they give out to people. In fact 50 per cent of both teams receives some sort of award. But if someone bowls well, delivers a good over, they don’t even get a single award,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel
“You have the super striker, super fours, super sixes, it’s all there. Super ball isn’t there. One time there was a fastest ball award. That ball might have been hit for a six but the person will still get the award.”
He also quipped: “Itna door nahin hai ki bowler ball leke bhaag jayega ground se bahar (It’s not so far that the bowler will run away from the ground with the ball.) Agar mein ball nahin daalunga toh aap maaroge kaise? (If I don’t deliver the ball then how will you hit it?)”
This is also a fact that bowlers get less recognised when it came to awards. A bowler may have picked up 5 wickets but if a batsman scored a hundred, the award for the most valuable player will invariably be given to the batsman. Bowlers taking wickets is not considered fashionable whereas a few pleasing cover drives are lamented for a very longtime. It takes the exceptional ability of a Shane Warne or a Bumrah or a Marshall for the heads to turn towards the bowler. It really is a shame isn’t it?
Cricket is a game that is loaded in favour of the batsmen. I couldn’t think of any other team game that is loaded in favour of one aspect of the game though those sports do not contain so many complications.
Wrapping up Ashwin is on a roll
The cricketing world will do well to listen to Ashwin’s podcasts. A lot of times he discusses things that are never discussed anywhere. Quite a lot of them if implemented will help the game to become much more balanced. He has got so mayny ideas that it will be a crime if his expertise on anything related to cricket is not utilised either by the BCCI or the ICC. Already, the BCCI made a huge blunder by not making him the captain. Atleast, the hope is that in the foreseeable future, he will become the Indian coach after his peers retire.
Other IPL blogs
https://icricketcritique.com/around-the-field/
https://icricketcritique.com/shreyas-iyer-and-the-hundred/
