Opinion Express View on Ravichandran Ashwin and the Test Championship: His regret
The priority of every captain is to pick your best bowlers. By that logic, Ashwin should have been the first name on the team sheet. He was not, has not been. No wonder he rues the road not taken
It is an insult to Ashwin's craft, which has taken years of hard work to evolve, and is still evolving. 
When Ravichandran Ashwin was a teenager, he wanted to become a batsman. He opened the innings in his age-group and showed that he possessed eye-catching strokes — arguably the most languid cover-driver in the country still — before he decided to devote his time to crafting his off-breaks. Almost two decades since the switch, he told this paper that he regrets the decision.
He is India’s second highest wicket-taker in Tests and could potentially end up the highest. But in a country obsessed with batting and batsmen, perhaps he would have been spared the agony of having to watch the World Test Championship final from the bench, despite being the highest-wicket taker.
Historically, bowlers have blossomed in the shadow of batsmen. Many in the stands can rattle out milestones and recollect every stroke in a Virat Kohli hundred, but how graphically do they remember an Ashwin five-for (only five have more than his haul of 32)? Or acknowledge that only Muttiah Muralitharan had won more ‘Player of the series’ awards than Ashwin in Tests? Even Anil Kumble, the highest wicket-taker for the country in Tests and arguably its greatest match-winner in the format, was not as celebrated as Sachin Tendulkar or MS Dhoni. Bowlers in cricket are like centre-backs in football, they shape the narrative of a game, but it’s the forwards and batters who are portrayed as the protagonists. The world sees the game through them.
It is an insult to Ashwin’s craft, which has taken years of hard work to evolve, and is still evolving. Oftentimes, he was overlooked in overseas conditions because someone else was a better batsman. Of course, the balance of the team matters. Accommodating two spinners in overseas climes is difficult, but only if the fast bowling pack comprises undroppables. The priority of every captain is to pick your best bowlers. By that logic, Ashwin should have been the first name on the team sheet. He was not, has not been. No wonder he rues the road not taken.
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