The all new old Ravichandran Ashwin’s IPL recipe: More over spin, the bowling action from 2010, attacking the line of stumps

“Since 2010 & 2011, I haven’t seen Ashwin bowl like this,” Prasanna Agoram, former performance analyst of South Africa who knows R Ashwin’s bowling more than most avers.
It’s a big statement but is borne out the numbers. In four matches where Ashwin has completed his quota of four overs, he has figures of 1/27 (vs SRH), 1/25 (vs PBKS), 2/25 (vs DC), 2/25 (vs CSK) and his economy rate of 6.37 being the lowest for anyone who has bowed 10 overs or more. The 37 dot balls he has bowled so far in these four games, is also the highest for any spinner.
For Prasanna, the secret lies in Ashwin’s bowling action. “If you compare his current action with what he used to bowl in 2010 IPL, you will get it,” suggesting there has been a return to the basics. “Now, what he is trying to do is bowl more over-spin with a traditional action using the crease on a constant basis. When I had a chat with him, I told him he would be the most kanjoos (economical) bowler this time, just like how he was in 2010 (eco of 6.10),” Prassana tells The Indian Express.

.@ashwinravi99 starred with bat & ball and bagged the Player of the Match awards as @rajasthanroyals beat #CSK to seal their 2⃣nd successive win. 👏 👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/IgV0Ztjhz8#TATAIPL | #CSKvRR pic.twitter.com/a9k5fp5lol
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 12, 2023
“Of course, he is still using the variations, but he is using them to set up the batsman and not as a weapon. Compared to the previous season, what has changed is that there are not many variations. Before, he used to run in and bowl leg spin, then he would pause and release with a side-arm action and for left-handers he would bowl over the wicket,” Prasanna says.
When Shivam Dube walked into bat in the middle of the 10th over, Chennai Super Kings’ chase against Rajasthan Royals was interestingly poised. Dube may not be the most gifted left-hander in their line-up, but Chennai use him to take down the spinners. As Ashwin bowled two successive dot balls to Dube, one of the security guards at Chepauk, a fan of Ashwin, said, “left-handers ku eman maari (he is like Yama, the god of death to left-handers)”. Four deliveries later, which included a biffed four, Ashwin would deliver the sucker punch. Having bowled five classical off-spinners, the 36-year-old would send in a slider that would hit Dube’s front-pad as he lunged forward to defend. As much as Ashwin, Dube had predicted it too, which is why he tried to take his bat as close to the front pad as possible but Ashwin’s subtle variation in pace meant the ball hurried a lot quicker than what Dube had anticipated.
Chennai: Rajasthan Royals bowler Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates the wicket of Chennai Super Kings batter Shivam Dube. (PTI Photo)
Speaking after winning the man of the match award against CSK, Ashwin said all he is trying to do is to keep it simple being prepared to bowl different lengths, speeds and trajectory. And analysing his overs, this season Ashwin has targeted the stumps more often than not.
Out of his 96 legal deliveries, 54 of them have been in the line of the stumps with just five carom balls delivered in total in four matches. Although he doesn’t pause in his action – in the past, he used to see what the batsmen was premeditating pausing before release – he is watchful till the very end to adjust the trajectory and speed, which at times has resulted in the ball stuck of his hand, and prompting him to pull out before the release. That brain is, as ever, ticking away.
While most finger spinners have cut down on giving flight and have got quicker through the air, Ashwin has been bold enough to flight. “I’m enjoying my bowling and I’m looking to deceive batsmen a lot more in the fight,” the off-spinner noted late on Wednesday evening. With none of the pitches taking much turn because of dew and flat decks, Ashwin has been impressively effective.
“Ashwin has gone back to conventional off-breaks where he is looking to beat the batsman in the flight. Kuldeep bowls at over 100kmph, Axar does the same, but Ashwin is keeping it slower,” Prasanna says. “And the best part of it is his trajectory. If your average speed is 87kmph, the lower limit should be 84 and the upper limit should be 90 so that the range is within 6kmph. If you do that, you have consency as well as variation in your trajectory and this is why batsmen are struggling to pick Ashwin this time.”
R. Ashwin of Rajasthan Royals bowls during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in Chennai, India, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/ R. Parthibhan)
What also stands about Ashwin’s performances this season is he has done so bowling at various stages of the innings. With Rajasthan having two attacking options in Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal, Ashwin is their go-to-man for all seasons. Be it in the powerplay – five of his 16 overs – or in the middle-overs or just before the end overs, Ashwin has been effective all-around. And even more stunning is the fact that despite yielding 10, 11, 13, 10 runs respectively in the powerplay overs, he has bounced back to be economical.
“If he relies largely on his over-spin and consently lands on the stumps line, he would be the most economical bowler in the tournament for anyone who bowls 50 overs,” Prasanna says. Ashwin has started the tournament impressively, can he continue?