Ravichandran Ashwin had a golden period in 2021. He was India’s highest wicket-taker across all the formats and the third-highest overall. Ashwin picked up 63 wickets in just 23 innings, Hasan Ali had 73 in 36 innings, and Shaheen Afridi had 78 in 44 innings. Ashwin was one of the most effective bowlers in 2021 and it brought rewards for him. After four years, the off-spinner is named in India’s ODI squad against South Africa. In this piece, we look at the veteran’s ODI stats and analyze his place in the team.
The Downfall
From 2013 till the end of the 2015 ICC Men’s World Cup, Ashwin picked up 77 wickets at an average of 32.53. Post that, in 15 matches, he could only manage 17 wickets at an average of 40.58. This includes his performances in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, where he picked up only one wicket in three innings.
As believed by many fans that the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was his last ODI series for India, he did play in the West Indies tour shortly after that. The dip in form in the two years was visible, but more interestingly, Ashwin had an average of 32 at home in the 2013-15 cycle, which went as high as 50.5 after that. It was the highest for any regular spinner at home in that period.
Big match player
Ashwin has always performed well with the ball in big tournaments. Considering ICC World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup, he has 40 wickets at a good average of 27.2 and an economy of 4.6. Only the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was a tournament where he could not spin his magic. Apart from that, Ashwin picked up crucial wickets whenever given the opportunity, like he picked up Shane Watson in the 2011 ICC World Cup Quarter Final or dominate the entire tournament when he played all the matches. If we look at his stats before the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Ashwin averages 23 with a strike rate of 31. Statistically, those are returns of 46/2 in a limited-overs match.
Return to T20I
Ashwin’s omission from the ODI team was justified, given the stats, but he had excellent returns in T20Is in 2016. 23 wickets with both strike rate and average around 16 are great returns. He only played a single match in 2017 and nothing after that. Not that 2016 was one lucky year for Ashwin, in 2014, Ashwin had 11 wickets again with both strike rate and average around 14-15.
It was either a lack of clarity from the selectors in terms of both the formats or they wanted to give the new spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, more opportunities in the shorter format to try out a new approach with two leg spinners. Ashwin was never out of form for India in T20I, and with decent IPL seasons in 2019 and 2020, he made a terrific comeback in 2021. In five innings, Ashwin bagged nine wickets at an average of less than 12.
Conclusion
The Indian spinners were effective last time India played an ODI series in South Africa. Chahal and Kuldeep picked up 33 of the 51 wickets in that series. With the current squad, there are chances that Ashwin will team up with Chahal and form the spin duo as India will miss the services of Ravindra Jadeja.
The off-spinner is one of the most intelligent players around and has a great approach towards the game and even life. It will be yet another comeback for a cricketer who has been representing India for the last 10 years. The team management should look to give the off-spinner an opportunity in all three matches. If such a senior player is in the squad, he must be tested as there is no point in him just being on the bench.