Maybe Ashwin and Lyon don't have enough variations to survive in ODIs, feels Mushtaq Ahmed
Mushtaq Ahmed has opined that Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon might have lacked the tools to survive the demands of ODI cricket. However, he has added that the likes of Yasir Shah, Lyon, Moeen Ali, and Ashwin have made huge contributions to Test cricket, for which he admires them immensely.
Recently, Saqlain Mushtaq talked about why India might have been wrong in phasing out a “quality bowler” like Ravichandran Ashwin, the same way they did for Harbhajan Singh but his colleague and another great spinner from Pakistan Mushtaq Ahmed found it the other way around. While Mushtaq spoke about his admiration for the Test specialists like Ashwin, Ali, and Yasir for embracing the challenges of five-format rather successfully, he reckoned they might lack the tools to survive the rigours of ODI cricket.
"Look at Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. They have won so many (white ball) games for India in the last two years. Maybe the likes of Lyon, Ashwin and Yasir don't have enough variations to survive in one-day cricket. Test cricket remains the ultimate challenge for the spinners as you get to know their true skills. The likes of Yasir, Lyon, Moeen Ali, Ashwin. These are the guys I admire. Their contribution to Test cricket has been huge," Mushtaq told PTI.
"Some of them have been successful in one day cricket also but the game has changed drastically since the five fielder rule inside the (30-yard) circle came into being. For that, mystery spinners, as well as wrist spinners, have become more effective. Guys like Like Adil Rashid, Adam Zampa, Chahal, Kuldeep, Shadab Khan."
While Lyon hasn’t been completely ditched from the white-ball set-up, his appearances remain sporadic. However, Ashwin, still one of the best in the shortest form of the game, has not played white-ball cricket for India since the 2017 West Indies tour. Although he stated that he has qualities in him to make a comeback, the chances of that happening are less than ever.
"In one -day cricket, if the pitches are good and you don't have variations or a mystery ball, you can't survive. For example, a champion bowler like Lyon has been exposed in one day cricket. He has not been as successful as he has been in the longest format. You need to have someone who can bowl leg-breaks, googlies, flippers, someone with a different (unorthodox) action. There is so much power hitting in the game, you need spinners with variations," Mushtaq added.
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