“The tail needs to bat like a tail”: Ravichandran Ashwin explains why it is difficult to clean up the tail
In the absence of cricket, India’s Test mainstay Ravichandran Ashwin has been quite active on social media. Apart from doing Instagram Live sessions with his teammates, the off-spinner has also been conducting Question & Answer sessions every now and then.
In one of the recent Q&A sessions that he held on Twitter, Ravichandran Ashwin was asked about why teams are not being able to clean up the tail quickly and what can be done to solve this issue.
Ravichandran Ashwin responded to the fan’s question by saying that the tail must bat like a tail for starters. The spinner suggested the current crop of tailenders are more like all-rounders who can bat too along with bowling. Ashwin himself shaped into an all-rounder after starting his career as a bowler. He has 2389 Test runs and four centuries.
“The tail needs to start batting like a tail for starters. Times have changed and nobody is a walking wicket now,” Ravichandran Ashwin wrote in his response.
Ravichandran Ashwin to play for Delhi in IPL 2020
With 365 wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin has been one of India's most successful off-spinners of all time. Having made his Test debut in 2011, Ravichandran Ashwin has played 71 Tests, 111 ODIs and 46 T20Is for the Indian cricket team.
He has not played limited-overs cricket since 2017, and in the longest format, Ravichandran Ashwin was last seen in the India vs New Zealand game in February 2020.
The 33-year-old will be gearing up for the Indian Premier League 2020, which will be held in United Arab Emirates from September 18 to November 8. Ahead of the IPL 2020 auction, Ravichandran Ashwin joined the Delhi Capitals in exchange in a trade deal involving left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith.
Previously, he has played for the Kings XI Punjab and Chennai Super Kings, where he won the IPL trophy twice in 2010 and 2011.