A good outing in his first international at Chennai could earn tall offie the man of the series award against New Zealand
A good outing in his first international at Chennaiu00a0could earn tall offie the man of the series award against New Zealand
Ravichandran Ashwin, India's latest spin bowling sensation has made the big league through performances that have almost sealed his berth as India's second spinner for next year's World Cup.
Ashwin (24) will play his first international fixture at home ufffd at the MA Chidambaram Stadium against New Zealand in Chennai today. Sure, he has played a handful of games for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but representing India is a different ball game.
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Pras is impressed
Legendary off-spinner Erapalli Prasanna hailed Ashwin as a star of the future. "He is a very promising bowler. I have been highly impressed. However, he has to be developed further. The polished product of Ashwin is still not ready," Prasanna told MiD DAY.u00a0 Fellow Tamil Nadu cricketer Subramaniam Badrinath, who also played alongside Ashwin for CSK, reckons that Ashwin's strength is his ability to bowl under pressure: "I have known him for a long time, and he has always been ready for big challenges," said Badrinath.
"At team meetings or even during a game, he always comes up to the captain and expresses his desire to bowl during power-plays and slog overs. That's the sort of capacity Ashwin has for pressure situations," Badrinath added.
It can be recalled that Ashwin played a key role in Chennai clinching both the IPL and Champions League Twenty20 titles earlier this year. Badrinath feels Ashwin has changed the popular perception that only seamers can bowl during slogs overs.
Watch out, Bhajji
Meanwhile, former India spinner and national selector, Venkatapathy Raju felt Ashwin has the wherewithal to challenge Harbhajan Singh for a spot in India's one-day squad: "It could be an issue to fit both off-spinners in the playing XI at the World Cup, but Ashwin has the capability of bowling superbly in the slog overs. I am not saying Harbhajan should be dropped, but you have to pick players on the basis of form. He (Ashwin) has those brilliant variations too and brings the x-factor to the team. I would definitely pick him in my side for the World Cup, and he is also a useful batsman."
One way or another, today is India's last stop at home before the World Cup in February-March. The final preparation would come in January when South Africa host India for five one-day internationals.
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