Surprised batsmen by bowling reverse carrom in IPL 2019, claims Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin reveals that he bowled reverse carrom
|IPL
Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he had surprised batsmen in IPL 2019 with 'reverse carrom', while they were, in fact, anticipating a regulation carrom delivery. He also added that he likes to bowl more with the new-ball because of the fizz, using the arm ball to its fullest potential early on.
The Tamil Nadu off-spinner has revolutionized spin bowling in the recent years, showcasing his variety and out-of-box bowling actions often in both domestic cricket and the IPL. The lanky off-spinner has now revealed that in IPL 2019, he chose to surprise the batsmen with the 'reverse' carrom. According to Ashwin, the reverse-carrom has a twin effect - either it would skid off the pitch or turn square.
"I am really surprised that in the last IPL people (batsmen) could not pick up what I was bowling. They thought I was bowling the carrom ball but actually I was bowling reverse carrom because when I would bowl that, I would get a lot out of the pitch. Sometimes it can spin, sometimes I could get it to skid,” Ashwin told Sanjay Manjrekar in a talk show for ESPNCricinfo.
Since his IPL debut with Chennai Super Kings, Ashwin has been seen bowling in the powerplays with the new-ball. While most spinners dread bowling with the new ball, the offie revealed that he actually relishes bowling with it. With even his last franchise, Kings XI Punjab, the 33-year-old picked up 15 wickets, mostly bowling in the powerplay.
"I like a new ball because of the fizz that I get on it. One of my strengths is to be able to put revs on the hard ball as it responds better to the pitch. But I generally like to use the arm ball in the first two or three overs because when you use the arm ball, it challenges both the edges of the batsman and forces him to go across the line, which is rendered risky,” he added.
"The others that I use are the floaters that swing, the one that pitches in and goes out or the other one that lands on the seam and gets to go the other way. So these balls become very effective,” he concluded.
