Once considered as the premier spin bowler in India, R Ashwin has seen himself being not considered for limited-overs cricket anymore.
AFP/ Indranil Mukherjee
While many blame it on the worldwide push for wristspin as a wicket-taking force in white-ball cricket, the Tamil Nadu spinner believes it's down to perception that that wristspin is a must in the shorter formats. "I am not looking at it like that because I am no slouch," Ashwin said in an event in Mumbai recently. "In the white-ball format, my records are not bad like what it is perceived to be. It is out of perception that wristspinners are required in the modern day one-day cricket format, that [is why] I am sitting out. The last one-day match that I played, I got three for 28.
"I would always look back at my career and say it is not due to my effort that I am sitting out of the team, it is due to the supply and demand that the team requires.
"I went and played in the Syed Mushtaq Ali [domestic T20 tournament] and I had a decent outing and that is how I look at it. I am playing cricket and it is not like I need to specialise in one particular format. It is the challenges of the modern-day game, I will be looking forward to do whatever I can do best."
Believe it or not, wistspin has slowly taken over as the go to option in slow bowling department across the globe. While India today relies on the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, England looks up to Adil Rashid while South Africa and New Zealand have the likes of Tabraiz Shamsi Ish Sodhi respectively in their ranks.
Though Ashwin would not admit much, this trend has seen him try to reinvent his game for the shorter format too. During the last Indian Premier League, the off-spinner was seen trying leg spin in addition to his trusted weapons. For Ashwin, its just about 'just adding more ammunition to his own skill'.
"I have always maintained that you can spin the ball into the batsman or out of the batsman, you can't do anything more than that," said Ashwin. "am just adding more ammunition to my own skill and try and add more strength to my game and that's all it has always been.
"I have never played for the galleries, never really played for the records, never really played for places. I just enjoy the sport; the sport has given me everything. When I picked up the bat and ball as an eight-year-old it gave me everything, I love it. Even today when I play a club game, when I play on the streets, I enjoy it. For me it is all about playing the game that I love and excelling in the best possible way I can."
