Veteran England batter Joe Root hailed Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the India spinner’s 100th Test landmark which he is set to achieve during the fifth Test against England. The match kicks off on Thursday, March 7 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
Ravichandran Ashwin recently passed the 500-wicket mark in Test cricket. He became only the second Indian after Anil Kumble to achieve the landmark. He has taken 507 wickets at an average of 23.92, with 35 five-wicket hauls, and ten eight wicket-hauls. Speaking to Sky Sports cricket podcast hosted by former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain, Joe Root showered praise on the veteran spinner,
“Ashwin is always trying to find ways of getting you out rather than trying to wear you down, over long periods of time.”
“He uses creases differently from traditional off-spinners. He uses over-spin, side-spin, can get really tight to the stumps, can go wider and he has got the carrom ball, you know, a lot of different tricks. So, you will have to be really wary of different threats that he poses and make sure that you have very good skill sets to counter (him) and be on top of him,” he added.
Ravichandran Ashwin has infinite variety: Joe Root
England batter Joe Root further expressed that Ravichandran Ashwin keeps the batters guessing as he has infinite varieties. He added that the spinner uses the new ball and the old ball differently. In the ongoing series, Ashwin has taken 17 wickets in four tests at an average of 30.41. Joe Root,
“Ashwin is making sure that you don’t play the previous ball. He is very good at trying to drag you across the crease and get your head to one side of it and beat both edges quite frequently.”
“So, you have to make sure that you are in position a little bit quicker. He can also drift the ball away and bring the slip fielder into play,” he added.
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