The Ravi Ashwin you see in Tests is not who you see in white-ball cricket: Sanjay Manjrekar

India’s ace off-spinner Ravi Ashwin didn’t have an ideal start in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he was hammered all over the park by Suresh Raina and Moeen Ali in Delhi Capitals’ first game against CSK. Though Ashwin managed to scalp the wicket of Ali, he leaked 47 runs in his four overs, the second-worst economy rate in the match for his team.

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined of the off-spinner’s poor performance in the first game of IPL saying that Ashwin doesn’t back his strengths. The 34-year-old is India’s one of the most successful spinners in the purest format of the game but isn’t in the scheme of things in white-ball format.

Detailing his opinion on the same, Manjrekar said while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, “For Amit Mishra, there isn’t much change in how he bowls in Tests and T20 cricket. He sticks to his strength and his intent is to get the ball to turn. Ashwin doesn’t bowl the off-spinner! He hardly bowls the off-spinner in white-ball cricket. In Test matches, that’s his main delivery. “

Sanjay Manjrekar opines on Ravi Ashwin’s inclusion in the white-ball format

“I think Ashwin when he gets into this white-ball circle, he’s only thinking about not getting hit and he thinks the only way to escape punishment is to have all these kinds of variations and he goes away from his main strength which is him being this wonderful off-spinner. So in return, you don’t get much return off the pitch because he’s not bowling any turning deliveries,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.

Ashwin’s spectacular performance in Test format has often resulted in the fans demanding his presence in ODIs and T20Is too. However, Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t fancy the idea as he is of the opinion that Ashwin will not be able to weave his magic in the shorter format. 

“But this is the thing with Ashwin that we saw in the first game… a lot of people believe that he should be part of the white-ball format for India but the Ashwin that you see in Test matches is not who you see in white-ball cricket,” concluded Manjrekar.