Is R Ashwin being reduced to playing second fiddle in IPL 9?

Ravichandran Ashwin has not had the batsmen in trance with his magical spin in IPL 2016 so far.

Team India’s spin trump card—Ravichandran Ashwin—has not had the batsmen in trance with his magical spin in the ninth edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. Ever since India were muscled out of the ICC World T20 2016 at Wankhede Stadium, Ashwin has not been in the thick of the action. For a leader of India’s bowling unit, he had bowled his full quota of overs only twice in 5 matches. For a bowler who brought India to the doorstep of victories time and again, he bowled only 15 overs in 5 matches. Hence, the question beckons: Is Ashwin being reduced to playing second fiddle? Live Cricket Scorecard: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 22 at Hyderabad

Be it in the quarter finals of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 or in the tournament opener of this year’s World T20, he has bowled with the new ball on many occasions. In fact, being an off-spinner, he has an excellent control over the new ball. He can drift the ball into left-handed batsman’s pad and spin it away. He can even outfox the right-handed batsman with his lethal carom ball. He has many wily deliveries in his bowling armory, and has been arguably the best spinner in recent times.

Point being, he has not bowled with the new ball for a while now. Yes, he’s a spinner and can be taken to the cleaners in the batting Powerplay. Nonetheless, if he has dismantled the defence of the greatest of opening batsmen, why has he been sidelined in IPL 9? IPL 2016 Schedule, Time Table, Fixture PDF Download

To add to Ashwin’s misery, he has managed to scalp only 1 wicket in the 5 matches he played for Rising Pune Supergiants (RPS) in IPL 9. Mind you, it was over No. 16 and his first ball of the season. And he struck in style! He deceived Ambati Rayudu with a flighted ball round the wicket and sent him back to the pavilion. As a matter of fact, that was the only match RPS won, where  Ashwin contributed with a wicket.

Yet again, he has delivered his full quota of overs only twice so far. MS Dhoni has been holding back his mainstay bowler for a while now. And it’s a difficult code to decipher as to why he has been doing so in this season of cash-rich IPL. Moreover, a Dhoni-led team has lost four consecutive matches for the first time in the history of IPL. Wounded Rising Pune Supergiants face Sunriser Hyderabad’s rising challenge

In RPS’ match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Dhoni handed the ball to the inexperienced Ankit Sharma when KKR needed 42 off 4 overs. He conceded 17 runs and changed the equation of the match. In fact, Ashwin still had 2 overs; had he bowled that over, result of the match would have been different.

His numbers may not speak volumes of his craft bowling abilities, but his spirited effort can turn the game on its head in no time. He wears his heart on his sleeves. He never bogs down even in the roughest of times. For RPS to get back to winning ways, Ashwin has to bowl his full quota, for he has displayed a remarkable show of character over the years.

(Kaustubh S. Mayekar, a reporter at CricketCountry, played cricket at U-16 level. Like his idol Rahul Dravid, he often shadow-practises cricket shots. His Twitter handle is @kaumedy_.)

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