Former India batsman, VVS Laxman lavished rich praises on Ravichandran Ashwin’s after his recent success against Australia and England. The off-spinner became the fourth Indian to bag 400 Test wickets – he was the second-fastest to the landmark, only behind legendary Muttiah Muralitharan.
VVS Laxman says that Ashwin is a hard-working and astute bowler. The 46-year-old opines that not only Ashwin has the skillset to outfox any batsman, but also he puts in a lot of effort in the preparation and planning to decipher a particular batsman.
“I think he’s (Ashwin) a very intelligent person. When you’re playing at the highest level, then it’s not only about your skill, it’s about your preparation, your planning and execution is so critical. So, he works out what are the weaknesses of the batsman. He plans those dismissals and that’s why I think he is reinventing himself,” VVS Laxman told Star Sports.
Ashwin troubled someone as great as Steve Smith: VVS Laxman
While against England, as Ashwin continued his dominance – 32 wickets at 14.72 – however, he was, as normality now, expected to reap wickets in home conditions. But it was his performance in Australia – 12 wickets in 3 Tests – which has established him as an all-time great as it helped the team win the series as well.
VVS Laxman points out that the Tamil Nadu off-spinner even entangled Australia’s talisman batsman, Steve Smith, dismissing the right-hander thrice – Ashwin beat Smith on the inside edge, outside edge, and in front of the stumps for an lbw. The former batsman applauds Ashwin’s zeal to always keep improving.
“We saw recently in the Australia series how he (Ashwin) troubled someone as great as Steve Smith and that’s another thing that makes Ashwin or any champion player special, that he wants to be the best and compete against the best,” VVS Laxman added.
With the victory over England by a 3-1 margin, India has qualified for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand in June. Once again, R Ashwin will have a key role to play if Virat Kohli’s side is to emerge victoriously.
