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Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s ace spinner in Tests, has proved himself almost unplayable in home conditions with his exploits with the ball during the last three years. He has tormented each and every opposition with his spin, skill and guile during this period. And his efforts, talent and hard work paid off when he became the fastest bowler to reach the milestone of 300 Test wickets on 27th November 2017 breaking record set by Dennis Lillee that stood the test of time for almost four decades.
It may appear that Ashwin is in prime form because of all that he has achieved in recent times. However, tougher challenges await him as India embark upon their first overseas assignment to South Africa this New Year.
Numbers don’t lie. Bowling average of 22.46 at home (216 wickets in 34 Tests) and 31.75 in overseas conditions (84 wickets in 20 matches) clearly show the stark difference between his effectiveness in the two conditions. Moreover, if his statistics in sub-continental conditions in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and almost similar conditions in the West Indies are taken out of consideration from his overseas statistics then we will know how much he struggles in conditions not conducive for spin bowling.
He averages 21.81 combining his statistics for the conditions in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the West Indies (60 wickets in 11 matches overall) which is pretty much similar to his home average. However, he averages a dismal 56.58 when his overall statistics while bowling in Australia, South Africa and England are considered (24 wickets in 9 Tests overall).
So, all these statistics clearly show how he has got the benefit of playing in suitable conditions all throughout his career. 276 out of his total tally of 300 wickets have come while playing in sub-continental or similar conditions. So, he still has a lot to prove because he hardly has the statistics to be proud of himself in overseas conditions.
Legends like Denis Lillee and Muttiah Muralitharan had far better away bowling averages than Ashwin to go along with their superb home record. Lillee was as effective in overseas conditions as he was while playing at home. Bowling averages of 23.73 at home and 24.78 in overseas conditions support the fact. Similar is the case with the legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who had a scintillating home bowling average of 19.56 and a decent overseas average of 27.79.
Ashwin is nowhere close to matching the away records of these legends. And if he wants his name to be counted amongst the all-time greats he has to work on improving his away record. He has to prove that he is not a one trick pony. He has already fallen out of favor from the limited overs squads. And a bad outing in the upcoming overseas challenges may mean his ouster from the Test squad as well.
All these numbers, all these milestones and all that he has achieved during the last three years playing majority of the matches at home, will mean nothing if he fails to prove his effectiveness in overseas conditions once again. His problem to perform with equal effectiveness in overseas conditions is not something new. He has drawn a lot of criticism in the past for that. And as the tour of South Africa begins next month, those old wounds will become fresh once again. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether he would be able to heal his wounds once and for all.
