Ashwin spins his way to 500 Test wickets
In a batter-oriented game, Ravichandran Ashwin’s entry into the prestigious 500-wicket club in Test cricket is a monumental feat. It’s a moment deserving of applause, cheers, and celebration for the Chennai-born right-arm off spin bowler, who has overcome challenges to join the ranks of cricketing greats like Anil Kumble (619 Test wickets).
On Friday, as Ashwin got rid of Zak Crawley, caught by Rajat Patidar, at short leg, there was joy and celebration. Cricket is, indeed, a team sport. Personal milestones are not larger than a team’s win, yet Ashwin has been an underdog, under-rated and has triumphed largely because of will.
The skill was never in doubt, just that he is not a good guy at projecting himself as a leader or a top dog. There was anticipation in the air since the time India toured South Africa. Ashwin could not complete the 500-wicket tally there and fell short in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
After having shown his prowess with the bat in India’s first innings against England in the third Test in Rajkot on Friday, Ashwin had to wait for his chance. Once the red cherry was hurled to him by skipper Rohit Sharma, the 500 was loading. Playing his 98th Test match, in his 13th year after making his debut in 2011, Ashwin was cock-a-hoop with joy as he embraced team mates.
It is hard to envisage another Indian bowler scaling the Mount 500 peak in Test cricket for one main reason: Injury concerns and the way cricketers are more than happy to play ‘pyjama’ cricket, as club cricket was called when Kerry Packer launched the breakaway series in the 80s. Today, there is ‘pyjama’ cricket all over the world, with T20 leagues being held in every nook and corner. From the gully to big stadia around the world, the condensed format has become a rage.
Does that mean there is no viewership for Tests? No way, Test cricket is pure and pious. It requires artists like Ashwin to be alive and kicking, giving the format shine and lustre, plus spin.
After all, Ashwin is an off-spinner, though not in the classical form like his predecessors, EAS Prasanna and Srinivasan Venkataraghavan. Prasanna was the master of toss, loop, and spin, and he created geometry in the air before foxing batsmen, err, now batters.
Venkat was nagging in accuracy, plus line and length. Off spin has evolved much more since those days in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Today, after another (in)famous off-spinner from across the border, Sri Lanka, people remember Mutiah Muralitharan for taking 800 wickets. Those who have seen the Sri Lanka bowler dispassionately will agree, Murali was labelled a chucker. He was hauled up many times, for there was a problem with his action. Those who dealt with the dynamics of his elbow bend etc will agree, Murali’s action was “suspicious.”
With Ashwin, there has been no such disrespect. He is a clean cricketer, one who has endeared himself to all formats as a true champion bowler. Ashwin has been a master, an innovator and at the same time an unpredictable bowler. He has that cunning and guile, rolled into one.
Give him the red cherry or the white ball, he will let it rip. He is bold and beautiful, and lack of predictability is his forte. Not all bowlers will take risks or gamble, in terms of innovation. Ashwin has done that, not fearing failure or getting hit for runs.
To be playing his 98th Test and getting to the 500-mark is special, though the 37-year-old deserves much more. He has played Test cricket under three different captains, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The sad part is, that Ashwin was never groomed as a captain, despite his acumen. It is to his credit when he played for Chennai Super Kings some years ago in the IPL, MSD knew how to use him.
Ashwin has embraced every challenge that has come his way. Like the brainy scientists in laboratories eager to experiment, he has explored various techniques with the red ball. Each approach has showcased his artistic flair, with pinpoint accuracy defining his mastery.
People said that Aswin was fat, not so athletic and so on. All that is bunkum.
Ashwin is fit to bowl, field and also bat with great skill. He is audacious as a batter when in the mood. After all, he has scored Test tons. Today, it is about Ashwin the superstar off-spinner. Any comparison between him and Anil Kumble, the former India captain, would be academic. Kumble was leg spin or leg break, at times, described as someone who never turned the ball!
Ashwin has always imparted spin, varying degrees and varying trajectories in Tests. He is still not first choice abroad as an off-spinner, with that honour accorded to Ravindra Jadeja.
Where Ashwin has been accused of being unfair is also in not hesitating to run out batters at the non-striker’s end who back far too much up and leave the crease. It is well within the laws and spirit of the game, for Ashwin to “Mankad” batters out. Good, bad or ugly, forget it. Ash, as friends call him, is a lovely guy, a team bloke to the core. While milestones weren’t his primary focus, Ashwin sure is bound to laugh and joke in the dressing room as well as in the hotel room on Friday night in Rajkot.
