New Delhi: When Test specialist Ravichandran Ashwin came out to bowl for Rest of India against Vidarbha in the Irani Cup encounter, for a moment it felt like that spin legend Anil Kumble was back on the cricket field bowling his vicious and precise leg-spinners.
Yes, you heard it right! Ravi Ashwin who has been bamboozling the best batsmen with his off-spinners for over a decade was on Wednesday seen bowling leg spin. The action with which the 31-year-old was bowling, resembled quite a bit to the one with which India’s greatest spinner Anil Kumble used to bowl.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video of Ashwin bowling his new variation.
As soon as Ashwin came up with the delivery, commentators too were quick in comparing his action with the spin legend.
Apart for his regular off spinners and deceptive carom balls Ashwin now also possesses the ‘Leg Spin’ in his armoury.
The action was not the only similarity between two of the most successful Indian spinners, albeit of different genres. Just like Kumble, Ashwin's leg-breaks did not turn much, instead hurried the batsman into their strokes. However, the difference was in the wickets column. Ashwin would have dearly liked a few more wickets to his name like his former India coach.
Ashwin previously experimented with delivery during a Vijay Hazare trophy encounter against Gujarat back in February. When asked, Ashwin told reporters that he has been working on the delivery and is looking forward to use it in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier Laegue
"This is part of my plan going into the IPL. I am just trying to build my armoury. I used to bowl good legbreaks with my offspin action when I was playing league cricket in Chennai. Over a period of time, in a search to get my stock ball right, I obviously had to cut out a lot of those things. I had possessed a lot more variations. Having bowled off-break as the stock ball for almost 10 years, trying to change things around is challenging. But I don't really settle for anything. At no point in my career, I thought 'this is it' and decided to settle for the rest of my career." Ashiwn said back in February.
Ashwin will lead Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team will begin their campaign against Delhi Daredevils on April 8 at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi.