Ashwin having a ball

Subhash Rajta

Tribune news service

Chandigarh, November 15

Ravichandran Ashwin is going through the best phase of his career yet. If how he’s deceiving the batsmen with his flight, drift and turn isn’t enough to prove it, here are the numbers that will hammer home the point. In seven Tests so far this year, the off-spinner has already taken a whopping 43 wickets, making it his most successful season of his career.

Not too long back, though, the off-spinner looked a little lost — his constant experimentation with his action was joked about, his bowling had lost much of its bite and he was mostly in and out of the team during the tours to South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia.

But once the team returned to the Subcontinent, Ashwin has looked a changed bowler; he’s not just picking up the wickets but is also looking like a bowler at the peak of his prowess.

“I am feeling very confident at the moment. The ball is coming out really well from my hand,” said Ashwin. “Whenever a batsman walks in, I give myself a 60-40 chance of getting him... Especially given the way the ball is coming out of my hand and the kind of pace variations I'm able to use now.”

So what has changed for him, apart from bowling in the familiar and conducive conditions?

“There have been times when I thought that I will get wickets quickly if I spin one across and one straight, but that's not how Test cricket goes,” he said, hinting he has learnt to be more patient now. “Now I look to build good spells, try and get control over the batsman over a period of time, and make sure I produce a good ball in that period."

Erapalli Prasanna, the former India off-spinner, had said a while back that he would like to see Ashwin setting his own field. It would, he felt, make the offfie even more effective. It looks like Ashwin has taken the advice. “From Sri Lanka I've not put a cover in place. At times I've been cut through backward point when I've dropped the ball short, but all this was done consciously, it gives me a chance to open my options in the slip as well,” he said, hinting that he decides the field and strategy for himself.

Having established himself as the premier spinner of the side, he looks keen to shoulder the responsibility of being the leader of the attack as well. On several occasions, he was seen having a talk with Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra on the field during this series. “When Jaddu is bowling, I try and tell what I can and share my experience with him,” said Ashwin.

For skipper Virat Kohli — incidentally, Ashwin’s resurgence has coincided with his taking over as the Test skipper — the offie has become a go-to bowler. “He believes a lot more in himself now, and has become a match-winner for is. He's that main bowler. As a captain, I'm delighted that we have a bowler like Ashwin in our team," Kohli said in Mohali. “He's definitely someone who has taken his game to the next level. He wants to do well when we play away from home as well, which is exciting for any captain.”