5 times Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed headlines with his unconventional comments
Seasoned Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is regarded as one of the finest bowlers in modern-day international cricket, especially in the Test format. His record speaks for itself. In 86 Tests, he has claimed 442 wickets at an average of 24.13 with 30 five-fers and seven 10-wicket match hauls. Among Indians, only Anil Kumble (619) has taken more Test scalps.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer has a decent record in white-ball cricket as well. In 113 ODIs, he has picked up 151 wickets at an average of 33.49 and an impressive economy rate of 4.94. He also has 61 scalps from 51 T20Is at a strike rate of 18.7. Ashwin has in fact been recalled to the T20I squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
Apart from being a genuine match-winner, the offie is also renowned as a shrewd thinker of the game. As a result, he is often in the limelight for his off-field antics.
In this feature, we look at five instances where the cricketer made headlines with his unconventional comments.
#1 “Let batters play the switch hit, but give us lbw when they miss”
Ashwin made a very interesting suggestion recently, commenting that a decision on lbw with regards to the switch-hit should be made considering the batter’s stance during the point of impact and not the original one.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the cricketer opined:
"My question is not whether he can play reverse sweep or not, whether it's negative bowling strategy or not (bowling outside leg stump), my point is about lbw. It's unfair that it's not ruled lbw.
"Let batters play the switch hit, but give us lbw when they miss. How can you say it is not lbw when the batter turns? If they start giving that out in all formats of the game, some parity could be retained between bowling and batting.”
He argued that while bowlers have to inform umpires about their mode of bowling, batters have the liberty to change their stance anytime. He added:
"This is where I have a small difference of opinion. As a bowler, I am informing you that I am bowling left-arm spin from over the stumps and I have this (leg side) field. You front up to that as a right-hander, but you play that reverse sweep and hit like a left-hander.”
#2 “I switch off the telly after a point of time” - Ashwin on monotony of ODI cricket
Despite being a cricketer himself, Ashwin has admitted that he often gets bored watching one-day cricket after a point of time and even switches off the TV. Speaking on the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast, he said:
"I'm an absolute cricket badger, a nut, and I switch off the telly after a point of time, watching the one-day game. That's frankly very scary for that format of the game, I think. Those ebbs and flows, when they go missing, it's not cricket anymore, it's just an extended format of T20.”
Batting for the return of one ball per ODI innings instead of two, he explained that it would give bowlers something to play with. Ashwin said:
"I think one ball (per innings) is something that would work and even the spinners would come into play. You'd have a lot more spinners bowling at the back half of the game. They are bowling right now but you might see a little more slowing of the pitch or whatever it is, and the reverse-swing might come back into play which I think is very crucial for the game.”
#3 “Free ball for the bowlers every time a batter leaves the non striker's end early”
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar is not a big fan of Ashwin in white-ball cricket. But the two are often involved in interesting discussions related to the rules of the game.
Last year, Manjrekar wrote a column for a newspaper in which he proposed the removal of the free hit. He shared the same suggestion on Twitter as well.
Responding to Manjrekar’s tweet, Ashwin wrote that there should be a free ball for bowlers every time a batter leaves the non striker’s end early. His reply read:
“Come on @sanjaymanjrekar, free hit is a great marketing tool and has captured the imagination of all the fans. Let's add a free ball for the bowlers every time a batter leaves the non strikers end early, a wicket of that ball will reduce 10 runs of the bowlers analysis and total."
In another tweet, he wrote,
"Remember: "you are supposed to leave the crease only after the ball leaves the hand."
#4 “Dock 10 runs for backing up”
Ashwin is known as someone who has vehemently opposed the ploy of non-strikers backing up too far. He even ran out Jos Buttler for the same during IPL 2019. During IPL 2020, the spinner suggested that there should be a 10-run penalty for batters backing up too far.
In a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he warned Aaron Finch, who had backed up too far. But he didn't run the Australian batter out. Opening up on the incident, Ashwin said on his YouTube show:
“When we played (against RCB), one side of the ground was big, I knew someone would back up because scoring boundaries was not that easy. They had guys who could convert twos. So I knew it would happen. I went into my jump while delivering the ball and a gold helmet floated past. I stopped and thought, he was still outside the crease, just staring.”
Terming Finch a good friend since they played together for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), he added:
“I let it slide as a final warning. Punishment should be severe, dock 10 runs for backing up. Nobody will do that. Getting batsmen like this is not a skill. But no options for the bowler either.”
#5 "T20 is heading towards where football has reached” - Ashwin on “retired out” move
During IPL 2022, Ashwin became the first batter in the T20 league to be “retired out”. This happened while he was batting for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
The right-handed batter had scored 28 off 23 when, to the surprise of everyone, he walked off without being dismissed. Riyan Parag came in to replace him. While there were mixed reactions to the move, Ashwin backed the decision, terming it as one that will be used a lot more in the future. He said on his YouTube channel:
"It might work sometimes and it might not work sometimes. These things happen constantly in football, and we haven't cracked T20 cricket fully yet. This is a millennial sport.
"This is the next generation's sport. In fact, if you see in football, Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo score goals frequently. But their team's goalkeeper should also save goals and their defenders should defend well. Only then, a Messi or Ronaldo will be in the limelight.”
First ever in #IPL history. Retired out, who else but #Ashwin
Comparing the "retiring out" tactic to substitutions in football, Ashwin concluded:
"T20, as a sport, is heading towards where football has reached. Just like how they're using substitutions, I did something similar (retiring out). Already we're late, but I believe this will happen a lot in the coming days. I don't think it will be a stigma like running someone out at the non-striker's end."
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