Writing on somebody who’s been written off!
This is not a story about how good a bowler Ravichandran Ashwin is. That, you all know.
It’s about a system that labels someone as something and discards him. Shamelessly, the same system then welcomes him back into the fold for the very format he had been ruled out of.
World Cup cricket in India. Everyone knows pitches in these parts will not be like what you get in New Zealand. So, if one of your spin bowlers is absent due to reasons beyond your control, you will call up another spinner in his place.
What if that spinner turns out to be the one that the ‘Planning Commission’ has decreed persona non grata in white-ball cricket? What if he is the one whom most cricket-watchers view as the best spin bowler in the world?
Ashwin’s recall is actually a statement from the system that it made a blunder in the first place. By naming him in the side for the ODIs against Australia, the establishment has acknowledged that it was a mistake to ignore him all this while.
Also Read: Ashwin a Surprise Inclusion for Australia ODI Series
What mistake? Fitness first. Yes, Ashwin is not your regular limited-overs hare. He will not dart around the park or grab eyeballs by flinging himself to the ground. He is handicapped if compared with the prototype of a 21st century one-day cricket player, when it comes to fielding.
But did these things matter when Ashwin hoodwinked batters in the longest and shortest formats of the game? Over the wicket, round the wicket, off-spin and other turns – he did everything. He was making a mockery of the blokes with bat, pads and gloves.
Noticed the changes in his action? Bowlers do not do such things after a point in their career. Saw the changes in his run-up and body positioning? Got those angles he was coming from? Everybody knew and saw and observed. Just that the people who decide a player’s fate did not.
That is why this is a story of errors, especially in judgement.
By ignoring Ashwin, and then going back to him, the national selection committee has shown it is fickle-minded. It is not meant to behave like a weathercock. Its job is to judge what has happened over a period of time, and then take a call.
It is not possible to believe that they did not know this. They knew exactly what was missing. And that was a wicket-taking, finger-spinning option. Why did they not go for him then?
That is a question we cannot answer. Ashwin is not good enough. Alright. Even if others lose form or are out injured, he still won’t be good enough. Alright. Then, out of the blue, he becomes a part of the team weeks before a World Cup.
That is not alright.
That needs an investigation, and we know full well that won’t happen.
Also Read: Ashwin in the spotlight as India and Australia seek final tune-ups before World Cup