Ravichandran Ashwin: A career falling apart

India’s ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been going through contrasting times in two different formats of the game. While the bowler sits comfortably at the number 2 spot in the ICC Test rankings, just behind fellow teammate Ravindra Jadeja, he is toiling at number 30 as far as the ODI rankings are concerned.

After a scintillating display with the ball in the 13 match home Test season, Ravichandran Ashwin failed to make his mark in the recently concluded Champions Trophy. The 30-year-old was ripped apart in the final by Pakistani batsman Fakhar Zaman and was subjected to a lot of criticism after India’s failure to retain the crown.

The notable difference in Ashwin’s performance in ODI’s and Tests did not come as a surprise for some former cricketers. “Dig his numbers in Test matches played abroad. Don’t get confused by believing this contrast is only in Tests and ODI performance,” says former Test off-spinner Rajesh Chauhan.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s Test career boasts of 275 test wickets in 50 matches, which is quite impressive. He was the fastest Indian to reach 150 Test wickets. The off-spinner also became the 2nd fastest bowler to reach 200 Test wickets in the history of the game and the fastest to grab his 250th. Having said that Ashwin’s profile has been relatively low when it comes to away matches. The bowler has picked up only 67 wickets in his 17 caps and interestingly the majority of those have come against weaker teams like West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (43 in 8 matches).

When it comes to the One Day Internationals, the Channai born’s bowler bowling average is significantly poor. He averages 33.30 at home while his average abroad goes down to 45.37. Ashwin had to settle with a single wicket in his whole Champions Trophy campaign with a shameful average of 167.

“He looks like a defensive bowler the moment he plays outside India against better teams. It’s the same in Test and ODIs or even T20s,” added Chauhan.

What Akash Chopra has to say:

“It’s not a secret that there is a certain disparity in his numbers. It does contradict his performance at home and abroad, regardless of the format. More than the revival of his ODI performance, he seriously needs to think about his performance in Test cricket abroad as well,” claims former India opener Aakash Chopra.

Virat Kohli left Ashwin out of the 11 in their Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan on 1st June. The decision was an expected one because of Ashwin’s poor form. On the other hand Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were in red hot form and automatically became the first priority. However, Virat faced some troubles clarifying his decision.

“Yes, we do have disagreements on bowling plans and all those sort of things because he is a very smart guy and he has his own plans in place. But in this case where team selection and all these things come into play, he’s very professional. He understands what the team demands,” said Kohli.

Ashwin broke into the national scene due to his heroics in the Indian Premier League. He emerged as a bowler capable of bowling in the shorter formats of the game. He made his Test debit almost a year and a half after making his debut in the 50 over format.

The deterioration of the bowler in the shorter format of the game roots back to the selector’s and captain’s wish to curb Ashwin into a bowler appropriate for the Test format. People wanted him to make Test cricket his primary focus. In India’s Champions Trophy triumph in 2013, Ashwin played an important role and was also among the top 10 ODI bowlers at the time.

Ashwin featured in only 9 ODI games between the 2015 World Cup and the 2017 Champions Trophy while he was a part of 30 matches between the 2011 World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

“The captain and Ashwin need to be on the same page and it should be clear that his main job is to pick wickets, as was the case during the 2015 World Cup in Australia. Even if he goes for some runs, his primary objective should be getting wickets and not restricting runs. He shouldn’t be dropped after a poor game,” argues Chopra.

One plus point that the bowler has is his desire to improve himself. But he falls short of fellow team mates like Ravindra Jadeja in some other departments. For example, Ashwin is not athletic or agile on the field compared to the likes of Jadeja, so he needs to be a top notch bowler once again to save his ODI career.

According to Akash Chopra, Ashwin’s and India’s real test will kick off from 2018 when India engage themselves in encounters with the toughest of opponents away from home.

“More than technical, I think it’s a mental issue. I was surprised by his line of attack during the final and discussed with fellow experts during the commentary. It didn’t help that he hardly played any cricket after March (the Australia Test series) and wasn’t available for the IPL,” says Chopra.