Opinion: Ashwin most valuable player

Ravichandran Ashwin, named 12th man in the Test Team of The Year chosen by an ICC-appointed jury, may have permitted himself a wry smile when on the last day of 2015 he was announced as the world’s top-ranked Test bowler by the sport’s apex body.

Of course, the Team of The Year was announced a couple of months earlier, before Ashwin had played havoc with South Africa in the 4-Test home series that saw him leapfrog over a few other bowlers to the number 1 spot. How was the ICC jury to know how he would fare against the Proteas?

But those who had seen him bowl in the Tests against Sri Lanka earlier would have been surprised at his omission from the ICC’s team, for Ashwin had given enough evidence even there why he was possibly the best slow bowler in the game today.

For me, his duels with Kumar Sangakarra made riveting viewing. It was a highly nuanced contest between batsman and bowler: of cricketing as well as psychological skills, and the Indian off-spinner emerged winner each time.

The Sri Lankan maestro, though in his farewell series, had been in rich form through the year and his prowess against spin was only too well known. On home pitches particularly, Sangakarra boasted an amazing record.

But Ashwin dismissed him in all the four innings he played before retiring after the second Test. In many ways, this turned out to be the decisive factor in India’s come-from-behind 1-2 victory after losing the first Test: when the opposite team’s best batsman is tamed, the others tend to lose their nerve.

Ashwin did not quite enjoy similar one-sided success against AB de Villiers, arguably the world’s best batsman, when the South Africans toured India late last year. He dismissed him only twice in seven innings.

But that statistic is an anomaly for Ashwin nonetheless tied de Villiers tied in knots every time and other bowlers benefited when the master batsman tried to bat more freely against them.

That batsmen of the calibre of de Villiers, Hasham Amla and Faf du Plessis were left to poke and jab for survival in all the four Tests shows how mesmerized they were by Indian spinners, in which Ashwin was clearly the spearhead.

With 52 wickets in just seven Tests in these two series (21 in 3 versus Sri Lanka, and 31 in 4 versus South Africa) his Test career took a quantum leap in 2015 and the number 1 ranking that came last week was only inevitable.

Of course all these wickets came in the Indian sub-continent where pitches and conditions help slow bowlers, but that doesn’t diminish Ashwin’s achievements even a whit considering the quality of batsmen he bowled to.

By any yardstick, Ashwin rise has been spectacular, made even more gratifying because he succeeded in silencing those who tended to write him off as a Test bowler, arguing that his skills were best suited to limited overs cricket.

To a very small degree, the skepticism was understandable for while he had been a consistent wicket-taker in ODIs and T20s, his form had shown some blips and dips in the five-day format.

Ashwin was criticized particularly for experimenting too much after initial success with the ‘carom ball’ delivery, which I thought was harsh considering his youth, relative inexperience at the international level, and a natural sense of curiosity.

The last mentioned attribute, I believe, is his forte. He is a rapid learner, a strategist and also somebody unafraid to try out new things to master his craft. If the phase of experimenting led to him acquire subtler skills and greater control, then that has been an invaluable learning curve.

Ashwin’s career stats as yet are quite staggering. He has 176 wickets in just 32 Tests at a better average (25.39) and strike rate (52.4) than any other contemporary spinner, or indeed any slow bowler from India’s galaxy of past spinners at the same stage in their career.

Add to that his batting ability. With two Test centuries to his credit and a very healthy average of 31.68 Ashwin could actually merit a higher batting position than where he usually bats. On current form, I would aver that he is the MPV (Most Valuable Player) in Indian cricket. But built into that accolade is a necessary caveat: the challenge of sustainability. The next couple of years, in which India will have played Te-sts overseas too, should tell us whether Ashwin has moved from regular success to greatness.