IPL 2018: R Ashwin experimenting with his bowling to get better

Ashwin has played 111 ODIs and 46 T20Is for India up to now.

R Ashwin will play for and captain Kings XI Punjab this IPL 2018

India's spinner R Ashwin has been “trying something different” to hone his skills to get back into the national reckoning in the limited overs cricket.

So far, the wrist-spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been fruitful for Virat Kohli in the shorter formats of the game, and due to which Ashwin has been out of the set-up for almost a year now.

With the IPL 2018 is on the cards, it will be a great opportunity for Ashwin, who will lead Kings XI Punjab in the T20 extravaganza, to do well with his new skill set in the tournament to get back into the Indian limited overs reckoning.

On Tuesday during the unveiling of the IPL 2018 trophy, former Indian leg-spinner L Sivaramakrishnan has revealed that the 31-year-old Ashwin has been bowling a lot of leg-breaks to push his game upwards.

But Sivaramakrishnan believes that Ashwin should use wrist-spin only "as a variation". As per reports in TNN, Sivaramakrishnan said, “Ashwin is trying something different because leg-spinners (Chahal and Kuldeep) have been effective for India. There is no harm in trying. Hopefully, Ashwin will be successful... It won't only be good for him or his franchise but also for Indian cricket.”

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan

The 52-year-old former India player further said of Ashwin, “He has been bowling a lot of leg-breaks of late. But Ashwin should look at leg spin as a variation. He cannot become a leg-spinner, simply because of his action and the habits he has developed over the years. His natural ability is to bowl off-spin. If he has to bowl genuine leg breaks, his whole action has to be remodeled. He is an open-chested bowler and it is difficult as a leg-spinner. The basics itself will have to change.”

He also believes that Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Imran Tahir and Karn Sharma might play a significant role for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2018, starting from 7 April in Mumbai.

Siva signed off by saying, “I see Bhajji and Jadeja as certainties in the side. Tahir and Karn, meanwhile, will have more of a part to play in the latter half of the season when the pitches have wear and tear.”

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 04 Apr, 2018

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