In the press conference in Brisbane, Rohit Sharma reminisced the fledgling years of him and Ravi Ashwin. “I’ve played cricket with Ash since U17. He was an opening batter back then. A few years later, we all disappeared. Then suddenly I heard about Tamil Nadu’s R Ashwin taking five wickets, and I was wondering who this guy is!”
Ashwin would construct his reputation thus, with his dint to scythe though batting line-ups, with the five-fors and 10-wicket match hauls. But he never forsook his first love — he batted as though he was trying to rekindle an old but unforgettable flame. His numbers — 3,503 with six hundreds — are not outrageous but credible enough for him to be considered as one of the finest all-rounders his country has produced. He has as many hundreds as MS Dhoni, in just seven more outings. Among those with more that 350 wickets, only Kapil Dev, Daniel Vettori, Shaun Pollock and Imran Khan command a better average with the bat. Only Imran and Pollock had a better bowling average though.
Before the gradual diminishing towards the end of his career and the burden of bowling on his ageing shoulders swelled, he maintained an average of 30 or thereabouts. Consistency was not his best virtue, but in the storm of a crisis, he produced knocks of substance, best illustrated by his six hundreds.
The challenges of Ashwin were different from the specialist batsmen. Either, his task was to inflict a few blows at the end, when the team has already compiled a mountain of runs, or he walked out with his team in dire straits. At least four of six hundreds were rescue missions — 124 (came to bat when his reeled team at 156/6), 118 (86/4), 114 (236/4), 113 (144/6), 106 (106/6) and 103 (331/6). There were other significant knocks, none perhaps as monumental as the SCG rearguard of 39* (128), when he wore blows on his body to etch a famous draw, the scene of Tim Paine see-you-in-Gabba taunt. Even the mere 25, among other 20s and 30s, he scored in Adelaide with Cheteshwar Pujara in 2018 had a crucial role in winning the game (by 31 runs) and setting up India’s maiden series triumph in Australia. He could perform various roles, that of the support act, tail-tending, the counter puncher and that of a steady hand.
Perhaps a cloud of regret floats that India could not harness the best out of his batsmanship. But this much was sure. Batting was a joyful exercise for him, a time to destress and enjoy the game as if he were still a teenager, a time when he played for the simple pleasure of playing the game, unbeknownst to the pressures of competitive cricket. In the nets, he often batted for long hours, usually before he began to bowl, polishing his strokes and technique. In the middle, he bats with the mindset of a specialist batsman, whether he is coming at 8 or 9.
Batting was a joyful exercise for Ashwin, a time to destress and enjoy the game as if he were still a teenager, a time when he played for the simple pleasure of playing the game. (BCCI)
Elegant cover drives
The stance was a trifle innocuous, his shoulders slouching, knees bending and legs seemingly tied to the crease, bat tapping the ground a few times before, the bat rising above the stumps as the ball came closer. But the strokes that flowed off his bat, when he timed the ball, dripped with class. The cover-drives exuded a nonchalant elegance. The bat-swing was sweet, which compensated for the lack of a long defensive front-foot stride. He was all eyes and hands.
Still and balanced, with time at his mercy, the transfer of weight into the strokes was fluid. When the mood and alignment synced, he was a treat to behold. He drove merrily with stunning hand-eye coordination, he flicked with flaky crispness of rice fritters you would get in Chennai, he swept and slogged with a roguishness that has sometimes eluded his bowling. His defensive game was understated, but he admirably blocked on either foot. He was fallible outside the off-stump, thus a tendency to stab at the ball, but despite the flaw, he managed to score critical runs.
Crowd favourite 🔥
R Ashwin’s first Test century at his home ground!#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/Fpa2XPOfEC
— ICC (@ICC) February 15, 2021
There, thus, is ample evidence to suggest that had he not swapped batting with bowling as his primary discipline, he was capable of building his reputation as a batsman alone. “It’s destiny,” Ashwin once told this newspaper.
He was around 18 when he decided to turn his attention to spin bowling, from opening the batting and bowling medium pace. The repurposing occurred because of the abundance of batsmen and dearth of spinners in his city, at that time a simple demand-supply equation.
Perhaps, he should have stuck to batting, he sighed. “Sometimes we have so much vanity that we don’t admit that destiny plays a role. Right people, right place, right advice. That’s what makes you who you are,” he would say. After a pause, he continued: “If my children want to play cricket, I’d still make them bat, there’s no two ways about it. I’ll ask them to bowl so that they understand what a bowler thinks.”
For all his wistful regrets, he could still be content with his body of batting work. As many hundreds as Dhoni. The only one in the 450-wickets bracket with an average of 25 and six hundreds and with a legacy that’s hard to imagine for most cricketers.
I’m Manas Ranjan Sahoo: Founder of “Webtirety Software”. I’m a Full-time Software Professional and an aspiring entrepreneur, dedicated to growing this platform as large as possible. I love to Write Blogs on Software, Mobile applications, Web Technology, eCommerce, SEO, and about My experience with Life.
