Ravichandran Ashwin's claim to being the best bowler in world cricket today
“He is a thinking cricketer,” Dhoni once said of Ravichandran Ashwin. “You try to do things in a different way, but what is important for the individual is to keep learning in every game.”
Think of Ashwin and the first thing that comes to mind is indeed a sound cricketing brain. Spin bowling is a science as well as an art, more so in the longest format of the game. You can’t just keep bowling wicket to wicket or keep turning the ball vociferously. Think Shane Warne; there was a definite plan in every single delivery he bowled, including the odd half-tracker.
While it is wrong to compare an all-time great with someone who has just stepped on the road that will probably lead towards immortal glory, you can compare the comparable aspect of both of these bowlers – the ability to prize out wickets by making the batsmen second guess themselves.
“We know he has got the brain of an astronaut. He has combined that intelligence with calmness and patience now. That bodes well for us because now the astronaut’s mind is helping Team India take flight.” – Ravi Shastri as usual had a different yet interesting perspective on Ashwin.
The components of Ashwin 2.0
But it makes sense. One of Ashwin’s biggest drawbacks a couple of years earlier was his penchant to bowl one variation delivery too many. For someone who prides himself on having a sound cricketing brain, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise either.
However, Ashwin 2.0 is more compact. The stock delivery has immense loop, turns square more often than not and most importantly, is bowled close to 4-5 times an over. Patience seems to be the key.
As a spinner, you may be equipped with a host of variations but if you want to be successful, it is an open secret that your stock delivery has to be your USP. Ashwin seems to have got a hang of just that and the results are there for everyone to see.
Virat Kohli, the face of the other brand of Indian cricket, doesn’t mince his words either – “priceless”, he calls Ashwin. “In a sub-continent Test, you won’t get any better than him. He can bowl at right and left-handers, he can deceive batsmen with pace, spin, bounce; you name it, he has it.“
But just because we are Indians, we will refuse to accept that Ashwin is the best bowler in the world right now. After all, how can the land of Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar produce another world class bowler after the effervescent Anil Kumble?
For the record, the ultimate praise came from the legend himself.
“I think a lot of people remind me of that. But as far as the attitude on the field is concerned – I don’t know how they are off the field because I have absolutely no idea – I sometimes see Ashwin and see myself in him, when he’s bowling, batting,” Kumble see when asked which current cricketer reminded him of himself.
And there is respect and fear in the hearts and minds of various individuals all over the world.
Shoaib Akthar, one of the most critical analysts of bowlers in world cricket today, conceded that Ashwin was India’s only ‘match winner and world class bowler.’
It is not usual for a captain to admit that a series victory was affected by the absence of a key player in the opposition ranks, but Ashwin seems to have ticked another box when AB de Villiers said that "India did miss Ashwin in the later part of the series. He is a champion bowler.“
From being benched at Adelaide to winning the man-of-the-series award in Sri Lanka, Ashwin has come a long, long way.
A penchant for prising out top players
When India toured Sri Lanka earlier this year, there were a few talking points. India had not won an overseas series in what seemed like an eternity, Sri Lanka were probably playing one of their weakest sides in recent years, and it was an emotional time for Kumar Sangakkara, who was playing his last series in international cricket.
However, the end of Sangakkara probably coincided with the beginning of a new legacy. Ashwin had the better of Sangakkara four times in four Test innings and in the process became the first ever bowler to do so. The wickets were not gifted; they were most certainly prised out.
So much so, that Sangakkara later admitted that Ashwin had got the better of him, plain and simple.
What seemed like a one-off incident was subsequently made into a habit by the Indian stalwart when he got rid of De Villiers, inarguably the best batsman in world cricket today, twice in consecutive T20s. If that seemed like an aberration, Ashwin’s spell to De Villiers in the first Test match at Mohali was a dream.
Indeed, if you are to unsettle one of the best batsmen to have ever graced the game, in his prime, you have to be a special kind of special.
Stats talk
When you dishe out performances like these, the statistics accumulate on their own:
Since 1st January, 2015:
| Matches | Wickets | BBI | Average | Economy | Strike Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 7 | 43 | 6/46 | 20.51 | 3.29 | 37.3 |
| ODI | 13 | 21 | 4/25 | 24.57 | 4.27 | 34.4 |
| T20 | 2 | 4 | 3/24 | 12.50 | 6.25 | 12 |
| Overall | 22 | 68 | 6/46 | 21.11 | 3.65 | 35 |
| Overall Away from Home | 10 | 39 | 6/46 | 24 | 3.58 | 40.1 |
In all honesty, Yasir Shah has probably bowled better than Ashwin this year in Tests. However, he averages 36.53 in ODIs. Similarly, the lethal Mitchell Starc was a better LOI bowler than Ashwin, but he is yet to find his feet in the longest format of the game. Both Starc and Ashwin have accounted for identical number of Test wickets – with Ashwin having done so in three fewer matches and at a 25% better average.
Ashwin also happens to have a better ODI economy than Mitchell Starc. And mind you, Ashwin frequently bowls in power plays and in the death, instead of finding comfort in the middle overs as is the norm for an off spinner.
A few major highlights of Ashwin this year are mentioned below:
Overall
~ Ashwin has the second highest number of wickets taken by any bowler, overtaken only by Mitchell Starc who has bowled 11 times more than Ashwin.
~ Among all bowlers with over 40 wickets, Ashwin has the second best average, only (0.18) less than that of Mitchell Starc.
~ Among all bowlers with over 35 wickets, Ashwin’s strike rate of 35 is the second best in the list, phenomenal for a spinner.
~ Away from home, Ashwin has the third highest wicket tally behind Yasir Shah and Mitchell Starc, having bowled fewer than both. Shah and Starc have 46 and 42 scalps respectively compared to Ashwin’s 39. However, Ashwin has the best bowling average among the three.
One Day Internationals
~ Ashwin has the joint best economy of 4.27 (with Mustafizur Rehman) among all bowlers with 20 wickets or more. As stated earlier, he frequently bowls in the death and during power plays.
Test cricket
~ Ashwin is the fourth highest wicket taker, accounting for 43 scalps,
~ Ashwin has the best bowling average among bowlers who have accounted for over 20 wickets this year.
~ His strike rate of 37.3 is head and shoulders above any other bowler who has accounted for at least 20 wickets.
Not one to fizzle out
It goes without saying that Ashwin is probably at the peak of his prowess right now. But the most intimidating aspect about him is that he just keeps getting better!
Having established himself as a front runner for the title of the best bowler in the world in the coming years, it will be interesting to see whether this period was a mere purple patch or a premonition of great things to come.
In any case, for now, after what seems like decades, an Indian bowling unit seems to be in safe hands.