Former Indian player Virender Sehwag said that veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s unwillingness to bowl off-spin in T20 cricket is due to his fear of getting hit by batsmen only. Ashwin looked off-colour against Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021 which earned criticisms from all quarters.
While speaking on CricBuzz Live, Sehwag stated that bowling a variety of deliveries rather than off-spin reduced his chances of getting a wicket.
“Ravichandran Ashwin has a mindset that if he bowls off-spin, anyone will hit him for a four or a six. Because of this fear, he resorts to experimentation. When MS Dhoni used to be behind the wickets, he never allowed Ashwin to experiment. Sometimes you need to make a bowler realize that no doubt a batsman may hit you for a six but it also gives you a chance to get him out,” Virender Sehwag said.
https://twitter.com/atulprakashh/status/1441025908404486150?s=20
“The way he was bowling, it gives him the least chance to dismiss a batsman. If he resorts to off-spin, then LBW, bowled comes into the equation. Yes, he was economical but as a senior bowler, he should give breakthroughs in the middle overs,” he further added.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin’s penchant to bowl carrom ball and other deliveries was seen during the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. He failed to take a wicket despite a dropped catch of Kane Williamson from Rishabh Pant in his first over as well. Even, he was looking ineffective also.
Ashish Nehra showers praise on Anrich Nortje
Meanwhile, Ashish Nehra praised South African player Anrich Nortje for his brilliant display but wasn’t happy with the overall bowling performance by the Pant-led team.
“I will give them four stars. The manner in which Nortje bowled, his bowling was 7-star, Axar Patel also bowled well. I gave four stars because Ravichandran Ashwin couldn’t bowl the way we expect from a great bowler. He has a lot of experience but we did not get to see Ashwin bowl off-spin. It looked like he was scared of getting hit by the batsman,” he said.
Get the latest update on IPL 2021, England vs India 2021, and other cricket news. Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
