R. Ashwin of Rajasthan Royals during match 44 of the Indian Premier League season 17 (IPL 2024) between Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals held at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow (Faheem Hussain/ Sportzpics)
Even though Rajasthan Royals sit at the top of the IPL 2024 points table, the first-ever team to lift the trophy do have problems to deal with. One of them being the form of their ace-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin. The once purple cap front-runner has been far below in the wickets column this year, having struck only twice in eight matches.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag believes that despite his credentials, Ashwin doesn’t have a wicket-taking role in the franchise. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Sehwag said, “That is for the other bowlers to do – Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger and others.”
The former India vice-captain furthermore stated that Ashwin prioritizing being economic over wickets is what had led to him being dropped from India’s ODI squad back in 2017. “If he does contain…if he does give six runs in an over and doesn’t get a wicket, that’s the same reason why he was dropped from the ODI squad after the 2017 Champions Trophy. He wasn’t able to get the wickets in the middle overs. And even when he made a comeback, he wasn’t able to do so. When that happens, when you bowl your overs for 6-7 runs, it becomes tougher for other bowlers with a set batter still in the middle. They aren’t as smart as you are. They can’t escape like you do. So they will get peppered for more runs. So it’s better that you bowl to get the wickets, not for dot balls. That’s my opinion. You have so much experience, you should look to get the wickets. Not to escape from getting hit.”
When asked what he made of the Indian off-spinner’s comments on his YouTube channel that wicket-taking is irrelevant in T20 format, Sehwag furthermore criticized Ashwin. “This is the same as when KL Rahul had said that the strike rate doesn’t matter. Same thing. He said it for batting, Ashwin has said it for bowling that it doesn’t matter if you get the wickets. If his stats aren’t good, then he may not even get picked in the auction next year. When you pick a bowler, do you expect him to give away 25-30 runs or do you expect him to give you wickets and become man of the match twice or thrice?” he said.
“All his competitors – Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav or anyone else – are getting the wickets. He thinks if he bowls off spin then anyone will hit him. Which is why he bowls his carrom bowl, which is why he is not getting any wickets. Maybe if he believes in his off spin or doosra, he can bag more wickets. But that’s his mindset. But if I were a mentor or a coach of a franchise, I wouldn’t think like that. If my bowler is thinking about saving runs and not taking wickets, he won’t find a place in the team,” Sehwag added.
In Rajasthan’s latest outing on Sunday against the Lucknow Super Giants, Ashwin finished with figures of 1/39. Currently, the off-spinner’s season economy is 9.00.
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