Last week, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin received a call-up to the Indian ODI team for the ongoing 50-over series against Australia at home.
The series is a final rehearsal before the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, slated to be held in India from October 5 to November 19.
On his return to the ODI team after 21 months, Ashwin returned with the bowling figures of 1/47 in his 10 overs as India defeated Australia by five wickets in Mohali to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik weighed in on Ashwin’s performance and said: "It was a tale of two halves. At the start, he bowled from the Harbhajan Singh end. He troubled Warner a little. Yes he did not create magical deliveries to get wicket, but he kept him tight, but once the batter got going Ashwin brought his defensive game into the fore and finished his spell with 6 overs for 36.”
“What was beautiful about the second spell was when he bowled those four overs from Yuvraj Singh end, it conceded just 10 runs. Now that is his skill. If you give him new batters, or put him at the start of a spell, he will always be good. He will go for runs, when the batters are set because he is a finger spinner and they know how he is going to turn the ball. If you given him two new batters, he will eat them up alive," he added.
It is worth mentioning here that Ashwin wasn’t named in India’s 15-member World Cup squad announced earlier this month. However, spin all-rounder Akshar Patel’s quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup 2023 paved the way for his inclusion in the ongoing ODI series against Australia.
While Akshar has been drafted into India's squad for the third ODI, his inclusion will be subject to his fitness. In case, the left-arm spinner fails to recover in time, the selectors might consider Ashwin as his replacement in the World Cup squad, which can be altered until September 28.
Legendary India opener Virender Sehwag, who was also part of the discussion on Cricbuzz, was also impressed with Ashwin’s performance in the first ODI.
"The game was looking easy as long as the pacers were bowling initially. That happened even until Ashwin was bowling. But things became difficult after Jadeja picked that wicket. Ashwin also bowled beautifully. He realised that the more slower ones I bowl, more will the ball bounce and turn and make things difficult for the matter. Jadeja and Ashwin bowled beautifully in the middle and actually made a comeback. So the experience that Rohit, Dravid and Agarkar wanted proved to be a good decision," Sehwag said.
Former India pacer Ashish Nehra echoed Sehwag while also adding that Ashwin will only get better with more game time before the World Cup.
"It is very difficult to judge a player based on just one match but the kind of player that Ashwin is...you brought him back for experience, and the numbers showed that. Yes he did not start off well but he came back strong and when a few wickets fell, he too started to turn the ball and bowl slower ones. In fact he made things very difficult for Cameron Green. Overall, it was a satisfactory performance and it showed that the more he plays the better he will get," Nehra stated.
