Ashwins off-beat story: Failed opening batsman to Indias spin hope

People react to repeated failures in different ways. Chennai off-spinner R Ashwin seems to have made the most of them.

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People react to repeated failures in different ways. Chennai off-spinner R Ashwin seems to have made the most of them. Seven years ago,Ashwin had played for the India under-17 side as an opening batsman,and a string of failures saw him being dropped from the side.

He went down the order in order to try and find some form but the runs had dried up altogether. That was when he decided to add something to his repertoire bowling fast,flat off-spin (Ashwins father Ravichandran,incidentally,was a fast bowler who played competitive cricket in Tamil Nadu and wanted his son to become a quick bowler like him. An injury,however,put paid to those aspirations).

I bowled flat and got a lot of bounce on matting wickets,and it helped. I could retain my place in the state and league team because I could double up as an off-spinner. My batting had stagnated I would play a lot of shots and get out impatiently.

Then in an under-19 game against Andhra,I was picked ahead of a regular off-spinner and picked up four wickets in each innings. I got a bagful of wickets for the under-22 team that season and came into Ranji reckoning, says Ashwin,who picked up three for 16 as Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday night. He also missed out on a hat-trick after umpire Simon Taufel failed to spot a gloved catch off Angelo Mathews.

To go with the variations he has developed he bowls the carrom-ball like Ajantha Mendis as well now Ashwin has loads of confidence in his abilities. While he aspires to play for India like most others his age,he believes he can be a left-field option to open the bowling in the games shorter formats.

I strongly believe that the new ball,if released correctly and at the right speed,can turn a lot more than the old ball. I enjoy bowling with the new ball it helps in my arm ball that I slide in to the right-hander. Even the carrom ball becomes more lethal. I believe there are more options for a spinner with the new ball, he says.

He doesnt think spinners need to turn the ball square to be effective either. I have always tried to stifle the batsman. I prefer to bowl a tight length and play on batsmens patience. There are people who have told me that I dont turn the ball much for a spinner but if Anil Kumble can live with that reputation for twenty years,I can put up with it too, he says.

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He doesnt see himself replacing Harbhajan Singh though,an off-spinner he describes as a legend.Ashwin Theres a myth that two off-spinners cant play together; if two leg-spinners or two left-arm spinners can play together,so can two off-spinners, he says.

Ashwin will get another chance to prove his credentials as a wounded Delhi Daredevils outfit come visiting at the MA Chidambaram on Thursday. For a good showing against Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir two of Indias top players against spin is sure to grab the eyeballs.