Yes, I do realise that I have been a bitter critic of Ashwin all along. I have commented about how ineffective has he been outside of favourable environments. I have also commented on how he is adamant that he has all the bases covered and will not practice, as Shane Warne once said, despite not being that effective. The statistics of Ashwin in the SENA countries are in stark contrast to his statistics in India, West Indies and Sri Lanka. However, this blog is not about all of that but about celebrating the bowler Ashwin. It is just not that easy for anyone to play 100 Tests if you aren’t that good. However, there are some exceptions like Ishant Sharma who no one knows how he played that many games. This is a tribute to Ashwin.
Yes, he has been the most effective in India. 363 wickets out of 515 wickets makes it more than 60% in one country. Let us remember the fact that eversince the rejuvenation of Jadeja, Ashwin didn’t get to play in most of the Tests in the SENA countries. He was the second choice spinner. He was let down by his batting as much as his bowling. Kohli and Shastri needed a spinner who is good enough to bat in the top 6 and who could, if the need arises, take advantage of final innings pitches. Jadeja’s batting improved so much that he was always considered as the first option. Perhaps, in the absence of Jadeja, Ashwin would have certainly played a lot more Tests than the 100 that he has just completed.
Ashwin’s best moment
Ashwin’s best moment of his career will not be the 100th Test nor will it be the 500 wickets that he has taken. It will always remain his meticulous preparation before the 2020 tour of Australia. He studied tapes of Steve Smith and analysed him to the point of becoming obsessed with him. This despite the fact that he knew pretty well that he will not be part of the team management’s calculation unless there was an injury to Jadeja.
As it turned out, Jadeja was injured and Ashwin started from the very first Test. His dismissals of Smith for a few low scores eventually paved the way for India to win the series. It was borne out of the hours of planning and preparation. It took Smith few Tests to realise the plan of attack and by that time, half the series was done with India and Australia at one apiece.
Then came another moment that he will not forget ever. His partnership with Hanuma Vihari at Sydney to draw the Test. Ashwin later revealed how they planned to bat through the innings and against which bowlers. It showed how his mind works. The Australians who themselves are the masters of mind games, didn’t realise the happenings in the middle. It was planning and execution at its best.
I realise that Ashwin has won an extraordinary number of Tests for the nation but these instances will always trump. It showcases the professor, as he is known by his team, in Ashwin. It is the same attitude that has worked against him on multiple occasions when he over thought instead of keeping it simple.
Anil Kumble, India’s highest wicket taker, perhaps paid the best tribute to Ashwin.
“With some players, people miss what they brought to the table after they have retired, right?” he says, matter-of-factly’. “Some players are like that. Maybe people will realise the quality of Ash…. I know people are talking about him and what he has achieved already but especially in a country like India, bowlers don’t get the same kind of adulation that batters do. That’s the nature of how we look at cricket in our country. We will probably realise his quality when retires and moves on. But in my book, Ash is in the top tier of players who have played for the country.”
Ashwin’s worst moment on the field
It is now done and dusted in history but that no-ball, turned the game in the favour of West Indies. Ofcourse, it was a sub-par score at the Wankhede but with a couple of quick wickets and Lendl Simmons caught of the bowling of Ashwin with not many on the board, the game was in the bag but that fatal no-ball call turned decisive. Ashwin himself made it worse when he said after the game that when someone told him that he never used to bowl a no-ball in the nets, yet, how come he bowled one in the crucial semi-final? I firmly believe that he must not have said this because the whole country was fuming.
Nevertheless, Ashwin will always be remembered as the bowler whom the opposition feared, atleast in India. It is more or less half the battle won. All India has to do everytime in India is to deliver the knock-out which will ensure victory. Ashwin is the primary reason why India have been so tough to defeat at home. We have lost only 5 Tests in India ever since the debut of Ashwin. It speaks a lot about how good and effective Ashwin has been over the years.
Wrapping up a tribute to Ashwin
I for one believe that Ashwin has not been felicitated properly. For his immense game awareness and the relentless brain of his, it would have been prudent to have made him the captain of an Indian team. He could have been the captain of the teams that were led by Pandya or Dhawan or even Surya Yadav. He could have been the captain of the Indian team that won the Asian Games gold. That would have been a fitting tribute. Just like Shane Warne, this will always remain an unfulfilled wishlist in his book.
https://icricketcritique.com/ashwin-wants-to-disallow-the-non-striker-backing