The most successful off-spinner in the world had to wait four years to find a place in India’s T20I squad again. There was nothing in his repertoire that didn’t warrant this sudden dismissive attitude, probably just a new approach towards the format that relied more on matchups than the instinctive genius of a bowler. But Ravichandran Ashwin kept pushing in Tests and IPL while reinventing his batting, asking his franchises to risk him as pinch hitter, even retiring himself out
The most successful off-spinner in the world had to wait four years to find a place in India’s T20I squad again. There was nothing in his repertoire that didn’t warrant this sudden dismissive attitude, probably just a new approach towards the format that relied more on matchups than the instinctive genius of a bowler. But Ravichandran Ashwin kept pushing in Tests and IPL while reinventing his batting, asking his franchises to risk him as pinch hitter, even retiring himself out when the runs weren’t coming. Those risks finally paid off.
After Sunday’s win against Pakistan, Ashwin will be remembered for hitting the winning run. But it would be a disservice to the man’s composure if the previous delivery isn’t mentioned, one that he calmly let go for a wide.
“He shows so much composure out there, the presence of mind to actually leave that ball,” India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey was telling journalists before the Netherlands game in Sydney. “If you look at it, any other individual at that stage would just swing his bat, but that's Ashwin for you. Top player.”
Was any instruction given to Ashwin when he went out to bat? To this, Mhambrey said: “I think it's the other way around. I think when it comes to Ashwin, I think he tells us this is what I'm going to do, so no. I think it's just the way he is.”
Ashwin has a more pragmatic recollection of that phase, one that he shares on his YouTube channel after that win. “I was padded up from the third over itself. Just to go as a powerplay enforcer if wickets fell early,” he said before trying to describe the fleeting thoughts in his mind. “Where is this game heading? What will everyone say? These were some thoughts. Then I thought Virat and Hardik should score 60 each. If the situation came, I could do my bit with the bat and take the team through.”
India needed two runs from one and Ashwin invokes Einstein here, wondering how a minute looks like an hour when you don’t like where you are. “Whereas if you talk to a girl, one hour will seem like a minute,” he adds with a grin. “Easily the longest walk to the centre of the ground. At least I felt it that way.”
Here, his momentary insecurity bubbles over. “I cursed Dinesh Karthik for a second and later thought, 'No, no. We still have time, let us do whatever we are here for'. Then I saw Virat Kohli. He told me so many things. I calmly thought to myself: 'Hitting in all those areas, you can do it. I will definitely try whatever I can.’ I couldn’t say that aloud.
“Then I thought: “God has given you (Kohli) so much today. How will he ever let me down? At least for you, won’t he let me get these runs?” No more thoughts. Ashwin had made up his mind. “See the ball, place it in a vacant space and just run for life.”
But Mohammad Nawaz bowled a wide. Rather, Ashwin ensured it was called a wide. “The moment I saw the ball going down leg side, I decided not to have any business playing it. And as soon as I got that run, I got so relaxed.”
We know what happened next ball. The batter is most unsure when he needs one run to win. The higher the need, clearer the mind is in terms of what shot to attempt. The field was spread as well, with only four inside the circle. But nothing about that scoop over mid-off said Ashwin wasn’t in two minds over it.
Ashwin has five Test hundreds. Even before he played the IPL, he came with the reputation of being a handy batter with supreme confidence in his ability to adapt, innovate and compete with the best. Add to that his constant quest for knowledge and Ashwin is almost unputdownable when he is in his elements. It doesn’t matter if he is bowling or batting. If it’s Ashwin, he will find a way. He'll reinvent the wheel if he has to.
While the bulk of this extraordinary turn of events in Ashwin’s life can be put down to sheer determination and exceptional control over his nerve, let’s not discount the work Ashwin the batter put in the 2022 IPL. He hit his first IPL fifty and scored 191 runs at an average of 27.29, both his best effort in 13 seasons. The strike rate was a batter-like 141.48 too.
This is what Ashwin, the best off-spinner in the world, brought to the table in a World Cup year India were looking to add to their batting depth by any means. And we haven’t even begun discussing what he does or can do with the ball. The range stays intimidating: off-breaks, leg-breaks, carrom balls, the undercutter and googlies, Ashwin can bowl these and more while keeping his eyes peeled on the non-striker’s bat playing touch-and-go with the crease. With Ashwin around, always expect the unexpected.
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