Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he feared his career would not survive the chaos unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic last year. It is good that Ashwin is still performing well. In the Kanpur Test too, he has shown his importance by taking six wickets.
Well R. Ashwin can play cricket for at least three to four more years. I am sure the coach of the team, Rahul Dravid, keeps motivating him. This player has great talent. By the way, it is also a fact that this player had to sit out during the Test series in England and was not even included in first two important matches of the T20 World Cup, but despite all this, he did not give up and whenever he got the opportunity, he performed well. In fact, it is the result of India’s little defensive thinking on foreign soil that he has to sit out and Ravindra Jadeja has been given priority over him. I don’t think anyone should be disappointed with such things.
By the way, the biggest judge of any bowler is hidden inside him. When R Ashwin feels that he is not giving his best, then he will not take time to clear the space for someone else. He is currently showing his utility for the team. Apart from his excellent bowling, his batting in the lower order also proves to be very useful for the team.
At the same time, Axar Patel has got record-breaking success in Test cricket. That is, getting five wickets five times in four Tests is a huge success. Some of his deliveries have been really good which shows the hidden talent in him. Although it is also true that till now he has got opportunities to play in India only. I haven’t seen him bowling in adverse conditions or playing on a pitch favouring seem bowling. Being a left-arm spinner, I love watching him bowl. It would be a different experience to watch him bowl on pitches where spinners don’t have anything special to do and only then can an opinion be formed about him.
Of course, if I get a chance to teach or coach this player the tricks of his left arm bowling, I can be of great help to him in making him a world class spinner.
The author has played 35 Tests and 59 ODIs for Team India as a left arm spinner.
