Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra lauds Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for his exceptional Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance. The 36-year-old finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series and also bagged the Player of the series award jointly with Ravindra Jadeja.
Ashwin impressed everyone with six wickets even on a batting fielding pitch at Ahmedabad. Chopra believes that the veteran off-spinner has silenced his doubters who accusing him of only doing well on turning tracks.
After the fourth Test ended in a draw and India bagged the series 2-1, Chopra shared his views on his YouTube channel. He said, “As expected, Ashwin ended up being the highest wicket-taker in the series. No matter what the pitch, he has proved to be the best bowler among the two teams. Rather he is arguably the best spinner in the world at the moment.”
Chopra also hailed Jadeja who played a great role in supporting Ashwin and also scored crucial runs with the bat. He scored 135 runs in a low scoring Test series and also picked 22 wickets and hence he was jointly awarded the player of the series with Ashwin.
“Ravindra Jadeja continues to grow in stature as he scored some important runs and also picked up wickets. As an all rounder, he is a cut above the rest. It didn’t even feel like he was coming back from a long injury lay-off,” he added.
Lastly he didn’t miss out on Axar who was crucial for India aswell as he scored 264runs at 88.0 and played a crucial knock in the Delhi Test which helped India win the match and also the series. The left-arm spinner did not get enough overs in this series to show his credentials with the ball but his contributions with the bat eclipsed everything else.
“Axar Patel didn’t get many overs to bowl, but he scored some crucial runs with the bat. It was his knock that helped us win in Delhi. Or else there was no chance whatsoever of India winning the Delhi Test,” Chopra lauded.
It is India’s luxury that they get such spin bowling all-rounders who can contribute with bat and ball. It also allows India to have an option open in bowling. Axar has proven his worth with the bat and in future we may see him purely as a batter who can bowl.
