In the grand lineage of India’s spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin would inhabit a rarified space, a space unto himself. There have been wizards and magicians, artistes and artisans, but few explored the craft with the fervour of a scientist, driven by an unflinching passion to locate its deepest meaning. So much so that it seemed Ashwin bowled not so much to pick wickets as to reach one step closer to understanding the soul of spin bowling, a dutiful pilgrimage.
He was arguably the most complete off-spinner India has produced, one who combined classicism with neo-classsicism, one who blended old-fashioned virtues with post-modern devilry. He stood in the past, yet leapt and embraced the future. His bowling enthralled the connoisseurs — he produced delightful drift, conjured dramatic drop and coaxed immense side-spin, but he also flicked the ball with his index finger, reverse flicked the ball too, experimented with his action and release points, bowled seam-up and the occasional leg-break. He unpeeled the different layers of spin-bowling, he dishevelled the different plans of batsmen.
He bowled to the best and removed the best — Kane Wlliamson, Joe Root and Steve Smith. He was a left-hander’s unflagging kryptonite. Among his bunnies were Ben Stokes (12), David Warner (11), Alastair Cook (9) and famously ejected Kumar Sangakkara four times in the space of 23 balls in the Sri Lankan’s farewell series.
He was a nod to every variety of the spinner India had produced. He was as classical as the fabled quartet, as studious as Anil Kumble and as sprightly as Harbhajan Singh. There was magic, artistry, grit and artisanship. But at the heart of it was a quest to find the deepest meaning and purpose of spin bowling.
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