Anil Kumble Heaps Praise On Ravichandran Ashwin After His 'Class Act' in Visakhapatnam

Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was in his elements in Visakhapatnam against South Africa as they notched up an easy win. Former India skipper and head coach Anil Kumble heaped praise on the star spinner, who returned with eight wickets including a seven-wicket haul.

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Ashwin returned to the playing XI after almost nine months and immediately made an impression. He scalped a seven-wicket haul in the first innings to help India gain an all-important lead. Ravichandran Ashwin was spectacular with his line and length and made the batsmen think.

In the second essay as well, Ashwin claimed the wicket of Theunis de Bruyn to provide an early impetus on day five before Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja ran down the Proteas batting order. Ravichandran Ashwin became the joint-fastest to 350 Test wickets in the second innings of the game.

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Former India leg-spinner, Anil Kumble said Ashwin is an asset to the team not just for his bowling, but also his ability with the bat in the lower order. Kumble also feels that Ravindra Jadeja along with Ashwin provides India depth in the batting order.

“You don’t want your premier spinner to be discussed before a Test series or a Test match, thinking about whether he’ll make it to the team,” Kumble told Cricketnext. “I think it’s sad but he’s showed his class. He’s the fastest to 350 Test wickets. I think Ashwin, not just as a bowler but as an all-rounder, is an asset to the team. Him and Ravindra Jadeja will give you enough armoury with the spin and can also give you solid batting performances consistently, and they’ve done that in the lower-middle order for India,” Kumble said.

Furthermore, Anil Kumble stated that there is no need to look beyond them as of now. He also sounded happy with Ravichandran Ashwin’s effort and feels the Tamil Nadu spinner has shut all his critics with his effort in Visakhapatnam.

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“I don’t see a reason why anyone needs to go beyond these two spinners unless there’s something else that you want to look for, or if one of them is not fully fit. Ashwin is your premier spinner and I’m certainly happy with what he’s done because you can’t stop people from discussing. But, now hopefully he would have shut them up. He’s a class act,” Kumble added.

Anil Kumble, who has been one of India’s leading spinners, explained why Ravichandran Ashwin is so dominant, especially in subcontinent conditions. Kumble feels variations and consistency is what makes Ashwin so lethal in these conditions.

“I think it is the subtle variations that he comes up with and what was really satisfying was that it was a flat wicket and he knew he has to bowl consistently on one side of the pitch and on one side of the wicket. The line was consistent, the length was consistent, he kept varying his pace and trajectory and he wasn’t experimenting too much,” Kumble concluded.