Published: Aug 19, 2013, 02:54 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 19, 2013, 02:54 PM (IST)
Ravichandran Ashwin has the arm-ball, the carom ball and the under-cutter as other variations © IANS
Aug 19, 2013
India’s leading off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that he is working on a couple of new deliveries to add to his repertoire, including the flipper.
“I am developing a flipper that pitches just short of a length and skids on,” Ashwin said in an interview with The Hindu. “I am also trying to get the carrom ball that spins into the right-hander. This will add a new dimension to my bowling.”
Talking about the other deliveries in the arsenal, the 26-year-old said, “I have the arm-ball, the carom ball, and the under-cutter. The carom ball drifts and spins away from the right-hander while the under-cutter cuts slightly away from the batsman. The top-spinner is a pretty natural delivery for me because of over-spin. The arm-ball is an important delivery while bowling at the left-handers.”
Ashwin said that successful spin bowling is much about foxing the batsman. “When I come wide of the crease to a right-hander, he is looking for something outside the off-stump. If I then send down one on off-and-middle, his head could falter and his drive could be uppish.” Speaking about bowling to left-handers, Ashwin said, “If a batsman is side-on, this line could open his stance, he could fall over. You can spin it across him or have him caught at mid-wicket.”
Ashwin lists England’s Graeme Swann is an off-spinner he respects. “In the contemporary era, any off-spinner who has achieved so much without bending and straightening his arm has to be admired,” he said of Swann. Talking about Swann’s action compared to his own, Ashwin said, “Someone with a high-arm action like me will get more over-spin than side-spin. Graeme Swann bowls a lot wider with his arm than I do, so he achieves plenty of side-spin. I also bowl the wider arm delivery to impart side spin these days.”
