Seasoned Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has had a fabulous time in the subcontinental conditions in the last couple of years, is keen to prove his mettle in the alien overseas conditions. No wonder, Ashwin was seen working on his leg-spin variation ahead of the all-important South Africa tour.
Virat Kohli’s troops are scheduled to tour South Africa for a three-match Test series next month wherein Ashwin is expected to play a huge role for the visitors.
As per the reports in Times of India, Ashwin was spotted bowling leg-spin deliveries during a VAP Trophy match against Grand Slam at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The 31-year-old offie bowled nine overs in total in which six overs of leg-spin fetched him two wickets. Ashwin was able to extract the zip, turn and bounce from the pitch and also had a decent control over his line and length.
“I knew Ashwin was working on leg spin. He was discussing about it during the Ranji nets. He did bowl the odd leggie against Andhra and Mumbai. I had kept wickets for him. But his accuracy is excellent,” Tamil Nadu’s wicket-keeper batsman Jagadeesan was quoted by TOI as saying.
“He bowled googlies and executed the faster one with good control. As a batsman, you can’t get away from him. His height is an advantage and he did generate bounce,” he further revealed.
It is pertinent to mention here that Ashwin got associated with the Worcestershire County Cricket Club after being snubbed from India’s limited-overs squad for the Sri Lanka series in August this year. He has had an amazing start to his county career as he claimed a five-wicket haul to his name during a County Division 2 fixture against Gloucestershire. In the final match against Durham, Ashwin scalped 5-95 in the second innings as Worcestershire clinched the County Championship Division 2 title for the first time since 2003.
Tem India's three-match Test series against South Africa will commence from January 5 in Newlands, Cape Town. Following the Test matches, the Men in Blue will feature in six ODIs and three T20Is.
