The Time Has Come For Ravichandran Ashwin To Bowl Impactful Spells Away From Home: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has reckoned that the time has come for champion spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to put up a match-winning performance away from home.

Manjrekar has time and again iterated his stance that Ashwin isn’t a match-winner away from spin-friendly conditions and while he is a high-class bowler, he needs to bowl an impactful spell in SENA countries for him to be counted as an all-time great.

Ravichandran Ashwin bowled with great discipline on the third day. In conditions that had very little help for him, the off-spinner didn’t give away easy runs and eventually picked up the wicket of Tom Latham to break the 70-run opening stand.

“He is surely a high-class bowler but I will again tell everyone that he’s a brilliant match-winner on turning pitches in India. But this is his third tour to England – he’s been to Australia three times and twice to South Africa – and here he hasn’t shown a long impactful spell yet to win the game for India. The time has come for Ashwin to do just that.” said Sanjay Manjrekar on ESPNCricinfo.

‘Today’s wicket was absolutely brilliant”- Sanjay Manjrekar on Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing Tom Latham

The former middle-order batsman reckoned that unlike at home where Ashwin gets most of his wickets with the help of short-leg and silly point, here he picked up a wicket like how Prasanna and Bishan Singh Bedi used to do.

Ashwin lured Tom Latham into an ill-fated drive but the southpaw ended up getting deceived by the guile and hit it straight to Virat Kohli at short cover.

”Today’s wicket was absolutely brilliant because he had no help from the wicket and he got the dismissal in a new way. In India, he picks up wickets with the help of short-leg and silly-point. Today, he picked up the wicket like an old-timer, like how Prasanna and Bishan Singh Bedi used to do by luring the batsmen into driving to the covers, mid-off or mid-on. Pitch didn’t had anything for him but despite that, he picked the wicket using a good strategy, tactic and skills.” he added.

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