R Ashwin: I see a purple patch coming up for me in Test cricket

In the latest episode of ESPNcricinfo Videocast that airs on May 2 2020 R Ashwin talks about his future his accuracy as a bowler what makes him clicks in shortformat cricket future of spinners and how can they stay relevant in the everevolving game of CricketldquoI am good at T20 cricket If my body holds up I see a purple patch coming up for me in test Cricketrdquo says Ravichandran Ashwin an allrounder who bats righthanded and bowls rightarm off break when Sanjay Manjarekar host of ESPNcricinfo asks him about his future plans R Ashwin does not favour 4day Cricket He says ldquoI am a spinner and yoursquore taking the fifth day out of the game yoursquore taking out a very fascinating aspect of the gamerdquoICC has been considering 4day test as part of the World Test Championship from 2023 However the worlds cricketers stand as the most likely source of opposition to the change with many viewing the step up from fourday firstclass games to fiveday Tests as a critical point of difference at the top end of the longform game source ESPNcricinfo article dated Dec 30 2019R Ashwin shares the secret of his ability to produce variations in finger spin with so much accuracy and the influence Woorkeri Raman former Indian cricketer and current coach of the India womens national cricket teamrsquos coaching technique had on him ldquoWV Raman who is known to be a straight forward and extremely disciplined man trained us to throw the ball accurately that should land above the stumps He also maintained that I stand no chance as a spinner if I cannot hit the top of the bat of a batsman every time I bowledrdquoR Ashwin further adds ldquoInfact WV Raman helped me master my rhythm He was the first person who with or without his knowledge inculcated this selfconscious training inside me He would keep telling me yoursquore running 10 slower or yoursquore running 15 faster And this put me in a great place when I started playing first class Cricket And these are the things that I will never forget in my career But because he was straight forward a bit dismissive and he could put pressure on people they started moving away from himrdquoR Ashwin shares more such anecdotes on WV Ramanrsquos training that shaped him as a spinner that he is todayR Ashwin has one of the best record of bowling with a new ball ldquoI like a new ball because of the fizz that I get on it One of my strengths is to be able to put revs on the hard ball as it responds better to the pitch But I generally like to use the arm ball in first 2 or 3 overs Because when you use the arm ball it challenges both the edges of the batsman and forces him to go across the line which is rendered risky The others that I use are the floaters that swing the one that pitches in and goes out or the other one that lands on the seam and gets to go the other way So these balls become very effectiverdquoldquoWith a new ball I use my middle finger more than the index finger but when I bowl with an older ball I try and get over the top Sometimes I donrsquot use index finger to go over the top It is behind and I still put the revs and thatrsquos when the ball actually goes the other wayrdquo adds R AshwinCommenting on future of finger spin and success of Mohammad Nabi Afghan allrounder and offbreak bowler R Ashwin says ldquoI am really surprised that at the last IPL people could not pick up what I was bowling They thought I was bowling the carrom ball but actually I was bowling reverse carrom because when I would bowl that I would get a lot out of the pitch Sometimes it can spin sometimes I could get it to skidrdquoR Ashwin points ldquoIn a T20 cricket you need to call yourself a bowler At times you should be able to bowl a bouncer or a spinner Wrist spin is successful not because it is challenging both edges of the bat but because of its unpredictable nature when bowling length And this makes wrist spin extremely relevant Now imagine if someone can dish out unpredictable stuff in a very aware manner Thatrsquos the journey I have taken and thatrsquos why I found myself amongst the wickets and in extreme control last year when I was bowling in Mohali which can be very challengingrdquo He adds ldquoIn any white ball cricket you can only hunt wickets down unless people are not picking it but that is at a very novel stage of your career Post that you should be able to dish out things at will that can surprise the batsman Once you can keep the batsman guessing chances of them bossing over you is very littlerdquoldquoMohammad Nabi is a great spinner in T20 format He is able to change his line and length at will and thatrsquos because he has done these repetitions in the longest format ie Test cricket If you wake Nabi up at 3 in the night hersquoll be able to bowl at the sticker of the bat he will then be able to change his line to wider to closer or Yorkerrdquo says R Ashwin He adds ldquoBut what is happening with wrist and finger spinner is complete eradication of logic So if you want finger spinner as an attacking option he should be able to do everything that a wrist spinner does in terms of length and line for which he needs to develop the awareness of his own bowlingrdquoCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereAlso download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news