Ashwin didn’t bowl like the No.1 bowler: Maninder Singh

Many former cricketers had their say before the Test series began and that has not changed after the first Test as well. There are a lot of opinions coming out from former cricketers and Maninder Singh is one of them but has a different approach. India lost the Test match by a humongous 333 runs and were outclassed by the Aussies in every department of the game.

The former Indian spinner believes that all the hate comments are only aimed at the batsmen but he thinks that spinners were to blame for the loss. He also lauded the Australian team. “To be honest, credit to the Aussies for a wonderful display. But then, a post-mortem has to be done and if you ask me, I feel that the Indian spinners lacked patience in the second innings. With the wicket helping the spinners, the likes of Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jayant Yadav should have slowed things down and taken their own sweet time,” the 51-year-old said while talking to CricketNext.

The Pune-born former Indian international believes that Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja rushed in their approach and were short on planning. He also thinks that they should have done the basics right rather than trying different things all the time.

“To just rush in and complete the overs showed that there wasn’t too much planning happening. Also, when the wicket is turning, you want to keep doing the basics right. I somewhere feel that Ashwin panicked a bit and started trying too many variations. When you have a wicket which is conducive to spin bowling, you just need to keep things simple. Also, the fielding left a lot to be desired,” he opined.

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Maninder was full of praise when it came to Steve O’Keefe. He said that the Aussie understood the pitch better and executed the plans better. He also said that Ashwin did not bowl like the number one bowler in Tests.

He said, “It was simple. O’Keefe just stuck to the basics and didn’t try too many things. He understood the need to pitch the ball in the right areas and let the wicket do the rest. For me, Ashwin didn’t bowl like the No.1 bowler in Test cricket. He is your match-winner and he should have adapted better. I am sure Anil Kumble (coach) would have had a word with him. As for Jadeja, I think he bowled really well but was plain unlucky.”

It was certainly a wake-up call for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Maninder also thinks the same. He said that the complacency crept in within the Indian team after beating the likes of South Africa, New Zealand, and England. And also went on to state that the Australians are different and they never back down.

“I think it was a case of the rude awakening for Virat Kohli and the boys. It was almost like they were a bit complacent and had a feeling that a turner was enough to beat the Aussies like they had done against the South Africans, New Zealanders and Englishmen before this. But you have to realize that this is the Australian side,” said Maninder.

The former Indian spinner is of the opinion that India will bounce back vengeance in the upcoming Tests. He said, “The Australians are known for their never-say-die attitude. Over the years they have shown that they are no pushovers. I am guessing the Indians have learned their lesson and will get back to the drawing board with a vengeance.”