I get a feeling that he tries new things in less important matches.This odi series is comparatively less important so might be trying and testing something. Just a guess. Or maybe he is poor.
Absolutely. He does that and sometimes overdoes it and pays the price.
Remember when he had developed a good seam up delivery where he would get appreciable outswing with the new ball. Tried that in World T20 2016 unnecessary just cos he opened the bowling..pitched it up full and gave 2 sixes in the opener.
Ashwin is not an average ODI bowler in my opinion. He is not great but not average either.
How many ODI spinners have been able to keep their spots in their teams?
SL - No one.
Pak - No one. Ajmal, Hafeez don't count.
Bangladesh - Shakib Al Hasan. Good spinner.
SA - Tahir. Easily better than Ash.
Eng - No one. Moeen is new and does a good role for Eng but is not a proper spinner. Averaged 47 in ODIs. Tredwell was good but dunno why they discarded him.
Aus - No one. Zampa is the new kid on the block.
NZ - No one. Santner is coming up. Vettori played here and there and he is a good spinner.
WI - No one. Narine doesn't count. Badree hasn't played ODIs.
India - Jaddu. Good spinner.
So as you can see, the ONLY spinners who were able to stand the onslaught and stay in their team were:
Tahir, Ashwin, Jaddu, Shakib
Tahir is the best spinner while Ash is the most clutch.
The reason why Ash is perceived to be an average bowler is because his ODI career has been a part of various phases where he has ranged from being very good to horrendous. And statistically he ain't all that good.
When he came on to the scene, Ashwin was an amazing LOI wicket taking bowlers. No matter whether it was domestic games or IPL or ODIs, Ashwin would pick crucial wickets. Its not a surprise that till WC 2011, he averaged 23 (no minnows) and he was the top 3 bowlers in IPL 2010, CT 2010 in SA (Man of series) and IPL 2011. He was dropped in WC 2011 after 2 stellar games against WI and Aus so he missed out on the WC 2011 glory (honestly he would have finished off Pak and SL in SF and Finals with the form he was in).
Even when he toured England in 2011 and India were losing games, he averaged 25. Things were fine till end of 2011 but then things started changing.
Ashwin's wicket taking ability dropped (barring the odd games).
Maybe he took his place for granted.
Whatever the reason, he looked uninspiring when bowling but was kept in the team cos he was still reliable cos he won't lose it mentally and leak too many runs.
Then you had periods of ups and downs before he finally turned it around in WC 2015. Post that period, he has been stellar whenever he bowled in ODIs. Wickets, control everything was there. Flight, drift and dip.
Then came the Aus tour where he had 2 average outings in high scoring games (went at 6 rpo) and was dropped. Then the Eng series now where he obviously is trying stuff (overdoing it I may add) and that's why there is this perception that he was never good and should be dropped.
Reality is Ashwin is a good ODI bowler who has been all over the place in his career. The very fact that he is probably the only offie in the world who is able to hold an ODI, T20 and club T20 spot and plays a crucial role for his side with the ball is a testament to how good he really is. Its just that everything is against the off spinner in modern LOI so its hard and he is working to find out a way out of it.
But with the way he has transformed in WC 2015, he has got back his wicket taking ability but he still doesn't quite have crucial ODI weapons that someone like Tahir has . He doesn't quite have a reliable away going delivery (to right handers) which he is aware and that's why he is trying super hard to develop leggies (he sucks in that) and is now trying to dart the straighter one (he is actually getting good with that but needs better accuracy).
He just needs to figure out a way to beat the outside edge. Don't think the straight darts will be enough. Carrom balls are one option but they aren't that accurate. He will figure something out imho. He is still good without them if he mixes up his flight and darts properly but once he gets a workable away going delivery, there will be a heaven and earth difference in his output cos he is someone who really knows how to use what he has. Right now, he doesn't quite have a reliable weapon.
So I am interested to see how he goes in IPL.
Personally I believe Ash will correct his records in ODI in due course of time.
But for now, we need to bring in another wicket taking spinner (Kuldeep) and keep him as backup in case Ashwin fails in any of the main ODI games. Not only does it safeguard our team's chances but that's the fastest way to get Ash to develop. Attack his ego and then watch him respond to it.
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