Are we grooming the right guy for Lead spinner?

Ravichandran Ashwin. All set to become the fastest Indian to 100 test wickets. From a bigger picture he is the man for the future. But does he have that in him to lead the spin attack for another 5-10 years? Lets analyse.

16 tests, 90 wickets is no mean achievement. He has lead the spin attack after the disastrous tour of England to high success. R Ashwin - Take a bow.

But that is not what a critic will look at. There are lot more to it. Out of the 16 tests, 13 were played in India.


So he is very good in Indian or Sub-Continent conditions. We have 3 other teams in the Sub-Continent were he can be useful. Again, this is a wrong impression if you dig further deep. Out of these 13, 9 were played against weaker opponents (West Indies, New Zealand & Australia). The only stronger team to tour was England and they dominated him to the max. He looked dull, out of confidence and looked like he was not the man for the mission (To lead the spin attack).

His only overseas tour was a disaster. There is no more to discuss on that tour. He was simply out played. He was comparatively a better batsman.

So where is the problem? He is highly successful in the shorter format. The answer lies here. Ashwin knows what it needs to succeed in the shorter format. Variations. He has very good carrom ball, faster one, slower one. When he tried to apply them in tests, he was successful but only against weaker opponents who were unable to play him. But England showed how to play him. They were patient and made Ashwin to make mistake. He did and they succeeded.

When you look at the Indian spin legends, they stick to a line and length and drew the batsmen forward. They were successful. Waited for the batsmen to make mistake. Patience is the key which is missing from Ashwin.

But he looks to improve in the current series. He keeps bowling good deliveries and doesn't show much variations which is very good at this level. Although Aussies are weaker, this change from him is really positive.

Does this solves the complete problem? Will he be successful overseas or he will again be a flop show like Bhajji? That depends on how quick learner he is. Kumble doesn't have any variations but he was the man for the mission. He was highly successful in any conditions. There are lot of take away for Ashwin from the Jumbo.

I have made another observation in the current series. The discovery of Jadeja. Highly criticized player of modern times. His bowling is good if not great. He sticks to the line, odd ball turns and keeps a tight line. He puts a constant pressure on the batsmen from one end. To me he looks like a lead spinner in the alien conditions. But long way to go Jadeja!!