Ravichandran Ashwin practices bowling leg spin ahead of South Africa series
Ravichandran Ashwin has been seen working on his new leg-spin variation which helped him in the VAP Trophy match against Grand Slam where he claimed two wickets. As per the report in TOI, Ashwin said that he wanted to master this skill before South Africa tour which will start from January 5.
The introduction of wrist spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav has raised a question on Ashwin's place in the limited-overs squad for India. The Tamil Nadu offie played his last ODI game in June 2017 against West Indies and his last T20I game was against the same opponent in July this year where he returned pavilion wicket-less. Since then, India have stuck with Kuldeep and Chahal to great effect as well, beating both Australia and New Zealand in back to back ODI series.
The 31-year-old seemed, however, seems to have taken the competition, from the young players, in his stride and has begun working on a leg-spin variation which he displayed during a VAP Trophy match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday. Ashwin delivered six overs of leg-spin in the game against Grand Slam and picked two wickets. Ashwin started his spells with off-spin but soon changed it into leg-spin deliveries which reminds the fans Anil Kumble’s action. Despite bowling to top-quality batsmen in first-class cricket, N Jagadeesan and Bharghav Merai, Ashwin was able to deliver nine economical overs conceding 47 runs.
"I knew Ashwin was working on leg spin. He was discussing it during the Ranji nets. He did bowl the odd leggie against Andhra and Mumbai. I had kept wickets for him. But his accuracy is excellent," Jagadeesan who scored 54 told TOI.
To reclaim his spot in the limited overs squad, Ashwin, who is the fourth-best bowler in the ICC Test rankings, is working on the new variation which he wanted to use in the upcoming South Africa tour. Jagadeesan further added that Ashwin's deliveries were sharp and he was able to execute the variations with consistency. His height also played a crucial role as it creates a lot of extra bounce which is always tricky to counter for batsmen.
"He bowled googlies and executed the faster one with good control. As a batsman, you can't get away from him. His height is an advantage and he did generate bounce," said Jagadeesan.
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