Former India bowling coach feels Ravi Ashwin can be a good captain for India

Not many had the confidence in Ravichandran Ashwin’s captaincy when the star spin bowler was named the captain of the Kings XI Punjab for the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League. However, he had promised that he will perform unpredictably best, which we are seeing in the tournament now.

A powerful team this year – Kings XI 

Kings have been the perennial under-achievers in IPL, but this year, it is Ashwin’s captaincy that has made them one of the contenders for the playoffs. He has shown tremendous faith in young bowlers like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, even if they have gone for lots of runs in the initial games. He showed faith in Andrew Tye too, who is now the leading wicket-taker of the tournament.

Australia’s Joe Dawes, former India bowling coach, feels that if there ever is a need for it, Ashwin can be a good captain at the international level for India. “As captain, I think he (Ashwin) will excel (at the international level). Once he finds his feet, he will do a good job because he has a great cricketing brain,” Dawes was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Dawes also said that Ashwin’s idea to try leg-spin could help him get more success in his career, “Ashwin is a unique cricketer. He loves to try out new things and tinker with what he has. There were times as coach I would have loved him to keep things simple but this is what makes him tick and has helped him become one of the best spinners.”

Smart moves by Ashwin 

Apart from showing faith in young bowlers, other smart decisions taken by Ashwin has been playing Gayle, who went unsold in the first two rounds of auctions but has been performing well for Punjab. Senior players like Yuvraj Singh and Aaron Finch have been dropped. Punjab are currently third on the points table, with six wins from 11 games, which makes them one of the frontrunners for play-offs qualification.

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