Virender Sehwag criticised Ravichandran Ashwin’s approach to his bowling style and his mindset during matches, sharing that it might cost him to be unsold at the next auction.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has expressed concerns about Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance in the ongoing IPL season. The legendary opener has lambasted the spinner’s approach to the game, his style of playing, and his game awareness.
Sehwag’s criticism came after Ashwin recently downplayed the importance of taking wickets in T20 cricket and performed poorly, picking only 2 wickets in this IPL season so far. “This is the same as when KL Rahul said that the strike rate doesn’t matter. Same thing. He said it for batting, and Ashwin has said it for bowling: it doesn’t matter if you get the wickets. If his stats aren’t good, then he may not even get picked in the auction next year,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Sehwag questioned the logic behind Ashwin’s remarks. “When you pick a bowler, do you expect them to give away runs or take wickets?” he asked. He pointed out that Ashwin’s competitors, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, have been successful in taking wickets.
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Sehwag believes Ashwin’s bowling approach might be hindering his performance. “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 the 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,” remarked Sehwag.
Meanwhile, Ashwin has not been at his peak this IPL season and has managed to bag only 2 wickets in the 8 matches he has played for the Rajasthan Royals. He has leaked 279 runs so far in the tournament at an economy rate of 9.00.
Last Updated on April 29, 2024
