I am no slouch in white-ball cricket, says Ravi Ashwin

He might have played his last ODI almost two years ago but India’s ace spinner Ravi Ashwin – currently the country’s most experienced bowler in Tests – feels that he is ‘no slouch with the white ball’. The 32-year-old last played a 50-overs game in June 2017 against the Windies and gradually lost his place to the new breed of spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal who have done well and made it difficult for the likes of Ashwin to make a comeback. Ashwin has played in 111 ODIs since 2010, taking 150 wickets at an average of 32.91.

A member of India’s World Cup-winning squad in 2011 who also played in the 2015 edition, Ashwin feels it’s the perception of wrist spinners being more suitable in modern ODIs that is making him miss out. When asked about the challenge of concentrating on just one format, India Today cited reports quoting Ashwin as saying: “I don’t know, it is a perception. I am no slouch. In the white ball format, my records are not as bad as what it is perceived to be. It is out of the perception that wrist spinners are required in modern one day cricket that I am sitting out.”

Ashwin also pointed out that in the last match he played for India in North Sound, he finished with the figures of 3 for 28 in 10 overs. “The last ODI I played, I got 3 for 28. I would always look back at my career and I would like to believe it’s not due to my efforts that I am sitting out (but) it is due to the supply and demand that the team requires,” he said.

The senior Tamil Nadu cricketer, though, is satisfied with his bowling performance in the just-concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament. He took seven scalps in six matches with a decent economy rate. Ashwin will also lead Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting next Saturday and thus has a lot to play for in the slam-bang version of cricket.

‘Not like I need to specialise in one particular format’- Ravi Ashwin

“I went and played the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20 tournament) and I had a decent outing. That’s how I look at it. I am playing cricket and it is not like I need to specialise in one particular format. It is the challenges of the modern day game, I will be looking forward to do whatever I can do best.” Ravi Ashwin added.

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