Ravichandran Ashwin will end up with 300 wickets at the end of season, says mentor

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on a roll in international cricket. Ashwin emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded Test series against New Zealand. His efforts of 27 wickets were instrumental in India whitewashing New Zealand. His efforts have seen roar to the top of the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings.

His coach and mentor, Sunil Subramanian, recently spoke on how Ashwin can end up crossing 300-wickets mark this season. Sunil Subramanian, the former Tamil Nadu leg-spinner, said the off-spinner has the knack of taking wickets. He reckons, “Ashwin has got an overdose of the wicket-taking luck.” He added that for the people who know his calibre, his success is not a surprise. Sunil went on to say that Ashwin is evolving as a great bowler. His intelligency and the ability to read the game is coming to the fore now.

“His achievements are nothing new. Those who follow cricket should not be enamored by the wickets column. There is nothing really new that he doesn’t have. He is just evolving as a bowler and it is his intelligence that is coming to the core now,” said Subramanian.

He expressed that it is not about sheer luck that he is bestowed with. He revealed that a lot of hard work has been put in by Ravichandran Ashwin towards achieving this success. He cited that on days he might bowl well but go wicketless. “There will be days when he will bowl a lot better but not have much to show in the wickets column. Some of the bowlers across generations are blessed with the wicket-taking luck. Let me tell you, he is not taking it for granted. He is working at it,” quoted the former Tamil Nadu bowler.

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Sunil Subranian also commended the adaptability of Ashwin. He spoke on how the offie has evolved and has learned to adapt to new surfaces. The ability of Ravichandran Ashwin to mix things up with his pace variations is also a key asset for him.

“As a process, what I see is his intelligence, how quickly he is able to adapt to different surfaces on different days. You won’t succeed all the time and it takes some time to adjust. What is special about Ashwin is that as you visualize the surface, he is able to do it in the match. He is doing quickly, match after match. You give him a different pitch, he will bowl with different speeds,” he said.

His mentor, who was all praise for him, believes that given the long Test season, Ashwin has the chance to reach 300-wickets mark. Ashwin already has 220 wickets to his name. “Ashwin is very intelligent to know what to absorb.

He is a sponge who soaks. He never closes his mind on information. The beauty is that he will absorb it like a sponge and use it precisely in the way he can use it best. He has amazing clarity on what should be done,” he said comparing Ashwin to a sponge that absorbs.

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India are scheduled to play 5 Tests at home against England next month.