Former Indian bowler heaps praises on Ravi Ashwin

Ashwin keeps trying and innovating, and never sits back to let things happen on their own, he creates situations. This is what differentiates him from the rest of the crowd and makes him the best off-spinner at present, says former India off-spinner N. Shivlal Yadav.

Reflecting on Ashwin’s success at the highest level, Shivlal, who was a classy exponent with 102 wickets from 35 Tests between 1979 and 1987, says that Ashwin is a complete bowler now.

“It is never easy to bowl on a pitch like the one in the Bengaluru Test against Aussies (where Ashwin picked a six-wicket match-winning haul in the second innings).

“Especially, bowling straighter ones and coming up with such variations requires great craft. He has really mastered this art,” Shivlal said.

The former BCCI present further went on to say that he personally rates Ashwin higher than Harbhajan Singh.

“Personally, I rate Ashwin higher than Bhajji for he flights the ball more and has a very good loop despite his height whereas the latter was much flatter and faster through the air”

He also referred to the criticism that Ashwin has not been as successful abroad as he is in India.

“He did bowl well in Australia, the West Indies. Well, there may not have been so many big hauls. But the fact remains he bowled well but without the same luck. Sometimes you bowl much better but don’t get too many wickets,” said Shivlal.

“I put it this way. If you remember the likes of Rodney Hogg, Terry Alderman coming to India and struggling here after taking lots of wickets at home and in England. But, their failure in India doesn’t mean they were not great bowlers,” he said.

India will take on Australia in the third of the four Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ranchi from 16 to 20 March.