It seems the loss in the final of TATA IPL has really hurt the Rajasthan Royals unit. The 2008 champs played poorly in the final and scored a mere 130 with the bat. The sticking point of the game, was when Ravichandran Ashwin bowled poorly with the ball and couldn’t make an impact. The 35 year old spinner has been getting slammed for his poor show in the final with the ball.
Virender Sehwag criticises Ashwin for the poor show –
Former India opener, Virender Sehwag who is known to speak his heart out as minced no words about R. Ashwin. The Indian test ace was called out by Sehwag for his poor show in the final. Ashwin bowled 3 overs and gave away 32 runs in a low scoring game after RR had posted a mere 130 on the board. Sehwag while speaking to Cricbuzz said “Ashwin should have stuck with his off-spin deliveries because it was troubling the batters. Instead, he bowled his carrom balls. There was even a rough patch formed by the end, that could have troubled Gill. He could have tried to dismiss Pandya as well like that. But, his mindset is different, tries for wickets with his variations”
Kumar Sangakkara too had something similar to say –
RR’s director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara too had something along the same lines to say about Ashwin. The Sri Lankan legend was seen as one of the reasons for the RR’s rise to the top this season. Ashwin who had played a huge role with the ball and bat this season, failed to do justice to his talents in the final. Sangakkara had said “Even for Ash, being a legend in terms of what he has achieved on the cricketing pitch, there will be a lot of thinking and improvements to do, especially with his off spin and bowling more of it”
Ravichandran Ashwin will be next seen in the whites of the Indian team during the only test against England. It will be interesting to see if he makes it to the white ball team in the series against the three lions. Ashwin made a return to ODI and T20 cricket during late last year. Ashwin who turns 36 in September has very little test cricket in the coming months. India after playing the only test against England will play against Bangladesh towards the end of the year, before hosting Australia early next year.