A few days ago, Ravichandran Ashwin said that he wanted to continue his experiment in cricket. No matter the criticism, the Indian star has given a strong message not to deviate from this path. But according to his team Rajasthan Royals cricket director Kumar Sangakkara, Ashwin should do more off-spin.
In the just-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), Ashwin did not do well with the ball. He has taken only 12 wickets in 17 matches in Rajasthan jersey. He is the second off-spinner after compatriot Harbhajan Singh to reach the milestone of taking 150 wickets in the IPL. However, Sangakkara expects more aggressive bowling from the experienced Ashwin.
The former Sri Lankan legend said, ”Ashwin has played a great role for our team. He is the best-quality cricketer. He has got a lot of success. But there is still room for improvement. We need to think about them. I want Ashwin to bowl more off-spin.”
Ashwin could not contribute to the team in the IPL final. After making only 6 runs with the bat, he also failed with the ball. He spent 32 runs in 3 overs against Gujarat Titans but did not get any wicket. His team could not win that day. As a result, despite getting a chance to play in the IPL final match after a long 14 years, Rajasthan failed to clinch the second title.
In terms of personal performance statistics, Ashwin’s best bowling performance this time was against Royal Challengers Bangalore. He took 3 wickets for 17 runs in the match. Sangakkara was disappointed with Ashwin’s bowling throughout the tournament. Maybe that’s why he asked the experienced Ashwin to keep an eye on bowling.