Rajasthan Royals ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is in hot waters. With just 2 wickets in 8 matches, Virender Sehwag has made a bold claim saying Ashwin won’t be picked in next auction if he continues to bowl like this. Arguing his point, Sehwag claimed that it doesn’t matter if he concedes less runs, the job of the bowler is to take wickets and win the game for his side.
Sehwag claimed that Ashwin is unable to scalp wickets. And that is exactly why he was dropped from India’s ODI squad after Champions Trophy 2017. Ashwin joined Rajasthan Royals 3 years back in the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. Albeit a regular for India in Test, he last played white ball cricket for India in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
No Place for Ashwin in Next IPL Auction?
“When that happens, when you bowl your overs for 6-7 runs, it becomes tougher for other bowlers with a set batter still in the middle. They aren’t as smart as you are. They can’t escape like you do. So they will get peppered for more runs. So it’s better that you bowl to get the wickets, not for dot balls. That’s my opinion. You have so much experience, you should look to get the wickets. Not to escape from getting hit,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
More on IPL 2024
The former India opener argued claiming the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are bagging wickets regularly in every game. On the other hand, according to Sehwag, Ashwin is not confident of his off spin. Fearing the batters to hit him for big runs, Ashwin is banking on his special carrom ball delivery to concede less runs which in turn is not providing him any wi wickets.
“All his competitors – Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav or anyone else – are getting the wickets. He thinks if he bowls off spin then anyone will hit him. Which is why he bowls his carrom bowl, which is why he is not getting any wickets. Maybe if he believes in his off spin or doosra, he can bag more wickets. But that’s his mindset. But if I were a mentor or a coach of a franchise, I wouldn’t think like that. If my bowler is thinking about saving runs and not taking wickets, he won’t find a place in the team,” Sehwag concluded.
Editors pick
