Ravichandran Ashwin is no ordinary cricketer. His spinning fingers have wreaked havoc and his strike rate is astounding. Continuing his streak of records, he has earned the distinction of being the fastest to reach the 300 milestone. In a land blessed with quality spinners of all varieties, it is not easy to be called a legend, the greatest and the best ever.
The bowlers he is compared with and even put ahead of are the likes of Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Harbhajan Singh and even Anil Kumble. Some of these are names Ashwin has grown up idolizing and dreaming to emulate. Statistics would suggest he is now only behind Harbhajan and Kumble. At this rate, he could very well surpass both. And that would put him in an exclusive league that would be almost impossible to join.
Since in sports and more so in cricket there is life beyond numbers, it would be interesting to raise the question that is Ashwin really the greatest ever? For a generation that has grown up lionizing the feats of legends like Pras, Bedi and Chandra, it is blasphemous to look beyond the trio. Romanticism combines with nostalgia for the followers of Indian cricket of the 60s and 70s and understandably, for them no one can match these greats.
They were the bowlers who gave India much pride in the times of repeated defeats, through expressing complex skills in a fluid, simple manner, an antithesis of intimidating batsmen with sheer pace and hostility. Indian fans found solace in rare victories as the world went lyrical in their praise. That could be one of the reasons why they hold such a special place in our hearts and minds. No matter what happens, it would be difficult to dislodge them from that revered space.
Ashwin in many ways is more conventional than modern. In the tradition of all Indian spinners, he is more sluggish than athletic on the field. His build suggests a certain slowness that does not fit well with the definition of the modern cricketer. Herein, perhaps, lies his strength.
More cerebral than physical, Ashwin has incredible variety where each sinew of his hand has a role to play, be it the fingers, palm or his wrist. To call him an off-spinner could be a misnomer as his carom ball would be hard to categorise. Spinning the ball in and even out, varying pace and making use of the angles like a teacher of geometry to probe and finally nail the batsman, Ashwin can be unplayable on Indian tracks.
The criticism thrown at him is that he needs to prove himself on tracks not so conducive to spin in foreign lands. His track record in that aspect is poor, but it’s not that other Indian spinners have done wonders in those conditions.
He may be a bit behind some of them and that should rankle. The true test of a bowler’s skills lies in conquering adversity, where even in unhelpful conditions he can lure a batsman to his doom.
Ashwin is no finished product yet, striving as he is, to add more and more variety to his repertoire. Some say he is trying leg-spin in the nets and given the amount of thinking and hard work he puts into his efforts, it won’t be a surprise if greater success awaits him abroad. For now, celebrate his tremendous achievements and wish him well for tough future endeavours.