Ashwin had come in for heavy criticism after his poor showing at The Ageas Bowl. Many wondered whether he was 100% fit or not. However, coach Ravi Shastri clarified that the off-spinner was fully fit
New Delhi: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly wants skipper Virat Kohli to speak to his “impatient” spinner Ravichandran Ashwin after he failed to deliver in the fourth Test against England last week.
England won the Test in Southampton by 60 runs to claim the five-match series 3-1. The fifth and final Test will be played in London at The Oval from September 7.
With rough patches on the fourth Test pitch, Ashwin was expected to excel but he failed. However, England’s off-spinner Moeen Ali made the most of the pitch conditions to take nine wickets in the match.
Also Read: Ahead of Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma upset with captain Virat Kohli?
Ashwin had come in for heavy criticism after his poor showing at The Ageas Bowl. Many wondered whether he was 100% fit or not. However, coach Ravi Shastri clarified that the off-spinner was fully fit.
In an interview with IndiaTV, Ganguly said Ashwin was better than Ali but he failed as he was experimenting too much with his bowling.
“Virat Kohli will have to talk to Ashwin about why he looks so impatient. He is bowling six different deliveries in an over. Ability-wise Moeen Ali is not better than Ashwin. Rather Ashwin is twice as good as Ali as a spinner. But Ali keeps his bowling simple. On the other hand, Ashwin keeps experimenting with the doosra, wrong'un and leg-spin rather than utilising the rough. Sometimes in Test cricket, you have to become boring to win matches,” Ganguly told the TV channel.
“A spinner will have to use the rough patches when playing outside India. When I was the captain, at times I used to bowl Harbhajan Singh ahead of Anil Kumble because I wanted him to use that rough,” he added.
Last Updated Sep 9, 2018, 10:05 AM IST