3 reasons why Ravichandran Ashwin can be player of the tournament in IND vs ENG Test series

Ravichandran Ashwin is nearing the biggest milestone of his career. He is going to become only the 2nd Indian to take 500 wickets in Test cricket. India will be facing England in a long 5-match Test series starting this month. Ashwin will be the leader of the bowling attack and in this article, we will look at 3 reasons why he can emerge as the player of the tournament in the India vs England Test series. Ravichandran Ashwin player of the tournament IND vs ENG.

The rookie English batting

The England team is arriving in India with a lot of new names in their squad. The English batting unit has inducted multiple young faces who are expected to take the mantle forward. Zak Crawley, Harry Brook, and Ben Duckett are some of those batters who have not played Test cricket in India before. This inexperience in the English batting unit can give an opportunity to Ashwin to dominate with his spin. 

The recent Indian scar

England had their worst campaign ever in an ODI World Cup a few months back in India. It was a shambolic performance from England and everything that could go wrong went wrong in the World Cup. It would not be easy for the English team to recover from that pathetic campaign and move on to do better this time around. Facing the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin will be a different challenge altogether and the veteran Indian spinner can take advantage of the mental block that England have developed in the last few years when it comes to the Indian tour. 

The English brand of cricket

England have tried to revolutionize their style in Test cricket in the last couple of years. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have tried to inculcate a fearless approach in the team and that has also given them rewards. However, the English team has not been tested in Indian conditions and this will be the biggest challenge to their philosophy. Ravi Ashwin can benefit from their brand of cricket as it will not be easy to dominate the Indian spinners in these conditions and an attempt to play explosively can backfire.