Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has criticized Ravichandran Ashwin for not bowling off-spin and instead of showing the variations during the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second leg of the IPL 2021.
Ashwin came to bowl on the second delivery of the ninth over when Marcus Stoinis went out of the field due to an injury. The veteran off-spinner failed to create an impression and went wicketless in the 2.5 overs he bowled in the match as well.
Ravichandran Ashwin bowling in IPL:
v LHB – Econ 6.3rpo, SR 25
v RHB – Econ 7.2rpo, SR 23Unsurprisingly, Ashwin is more economical against the LHB, but his record v RHB is still very solid. With all the SRH right-handers to come, that's useful. #IPL2021 #DCvSRH
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) September 22, 2021
During a discussion on Star Sports, Gautam Gambhir questioned Ravichandran Ashwin’s tactics as well. He said, “He is currently the best off-spinner in the world but he didn’t bowl off-spin at all. It is necessary for him to first understand that he is an off-spinner. It was an ideal situation for him where the opposition was three or four down.”
“There is no doubt that you have not played cricket for a long time, you didn’t play the four Tests and the match pressure is completely different, whichever format it might be, you should have bowled your traditional off-spin until you were hit for a six,” he continued.
“Ravichandran Ashwin disappointed me with the ball” – Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir has also stated that Ravichandran Ashwin is an off-spinner and his bowling would have helped him return in his rhythm.
“You should have bowled the Test match-type bowling and got back your rhythm and feel. Whether it is batting or bowling, everything is about the feel. We saw the knuckle ball at the start itself. The entire world knows that you have a variation of all types, you can bowl the googly, leg-spin, knuckle ball but you are still an off-spinner,” he explained.
“You can get wickets with off-spin also. It is not necessary that it is T20 cricket or white ball, so you have to show your variations. He disappointed me a little from that point of view but I am sure that going forward he will bowl more off-spin because he is a world-class bowler,” Gautam Gambhir concluded.
Notably, Ravichandran Ashwin is a part of India’s 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup and he will hope to do well in the upcoming matches as well.
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