New Delhi: Is it the end of the road for spin twins Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja as far as the shorter versions of the game is concerned. If sources are to be believed, then the two don’t really figure in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup as far as skipper Virat Kohli and the Indian team think-tank. In the recent future the chances of the two donning the Indian colours for the 50 overs and T20 format appear remote indeed. The news has been conveyed to both also.
It is not that the skills of the two have declined rapidly. The recently-concluded Nagpur Test against Sri Lanka once more proved that both still have the armoury to trouble opposition batsmen, even on pitches which have a green tinge on it. Ashwin picked up eight wickets and Jadeja five. But even then both have been ignored for the ODIs against Sri Lanka.
The last time the two played ODIs was in June 2017. Since then they have been ignored for the shorter versions of the game in the away series against Sri Lanka and the home games against Australia and New Zealand. According to various sources close to the Indian team think-tank, the failure of both to take wickets on a consistent basis has prompted the team management to pin their hopes on the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel.
Skipper Kohli’s penchant for attacking cricket is well known. He is not a man who wants to restrict the opposition, but to bowl them out. And it is in this department that both Ashwin and Jadeja have failed to deliver. Wickets have dried up for both with Jadeja getting seven in his last 10 games while Ashwin has got 10.
Both however, have a decent economy rate of 4.90 and 4.91 respectively in the 50 overs format. However, that rate has crept up close to six in the last 10 ODIs they have played. On the other hand, the likes of Chahal, Kuldeep and Axar have a rate of less than five (see graphics), even though their careers are still at a nascent stage.
“I don’t want to comment about their futures in the shorter formats,” commentator Deep Dasgupta said Tuesday. “But the crux of the matter is Kohli likes taking wickets and he is finding both Chahal and Kuldeep giving him that. In modern-day cricket, you just can’t keep the opposition run rate down, unless you take wickets. Until and unless, the three youngsters fail, the chances of both Ashwin and Jadeja making a comeback to the ODI squad look difficult.”
Batting-wise also, both Ashwin and Jadeja have also not lived up to their reputation. In his last 25 innings (some of which he was not required to bat), Ashwin has failed to get a single 20-plus score while in the same number of innings Jadeja’s highest score has been 32. With both failing to come good with bat and ball, the selectors have had no option, but to look elsewhere.
Agencies
