Few cricketers dominate on home soil the way R Ashwin does

Ravichandran Ashwin has become the fastest Indian and second fastest ever to reach 200 Test wickets. He's also won more Man of the series awards than any other Indian and not to forget that his career is only 37 Tests old. Just to put things in perspective, some of the greats that played for India played over 50 Test series in their careers. Ashwin's career has the makings of finishing as a modern great.

Also Read: Kanpur Test: R Ashwin guides India closer to victory against New Zealand in historic 500th Test

Following Kumble's footsteps
You give a flat track to a really good batsman; he might guarantee you a century. If you offered a moist green top to a quality seamer, he would give you a five-wicket haul. But if you offered a pitch to Kumble's liking, he would win you the Test match. That's the legacy India's most successful bowler has left behind. In most cases, it's impossible to find someone who could maintain the lofty standards set by Kumble but Indian cricket is fortunate that the baton has been passed on almost seamlessly. Ashwin is doing what Kumble used to do in his heyday. The effectiveness of Ashwin in Indian conditions isn't something to scoffed at but appreciated. While everyone prospers in home conditions, there are few who dominate the way Ashwin does.

Anil Kumble

Traditional in style, modern in thoughts
He's got the flight, the drift in the air and the ball dips just before landing. If that's not enough to catch the prey, he also gets the ball to turn appreciably off the surface along with the extra bounce thanks to his height and the high-arm action. His bowling style is a throwback to the years gone by. While his bowling style is traditional, he's extremely modern in his thought process. When asked about the ideal pace to bowl on slow-low Indian pitches, his eloquence showed the glimpse of the mind behind the man. He said that even though it's important to bowl quicker, it could be a futile exercise unless you know what's your own optimum speed. The moment you went over that threshold, you'd compromise on accuracy. Now, it's not something you'd hear the spinner from yesteryears talk about. Modern day cricketers have the tools to know what brings out their optimum performance and Ashwin is using it to his advantage.

India's Ravichandran Ashwin celebrates the wicket of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson on the fourth day of the opening Test at Green Park in Kanpur yesterday. Pic/AP

Constant improvement
The moment you accept that there's a need to improve, you start improving. Ashwin's career is a good example of how he's not only keen to receive feedback but also works towards addressing the concerns. A few years ago he'd use too many variations too often and that led to a fair amount of criticism about the lack of consistency, and even cost him his place in the side. Whenever India wanted to play one spinner overseas, it was a toss up between him and Jadeja, with the latter getting the preference often. Ashwin went back to the drawing board and worked on getting things right. He started focusing a lot more on his stock ball and also, started bowling an outside-off line, which in turn fetched him more wickets. But evolution of a player is an ongoing process and it was evident in this Test too. Ashwin looked off-colour on the 2nd day of the Test match but came back a different bowler on the third day because he used the break to assess where things went wrong.

India's playing as many as 12 more Test matches in the next 6 months and if India were to win most of them, they would need Ashwin to remain on top of his game throughout. The team that's studded with some exciting talent in the batting department, Ashwin is undoubtedly the Most Valuable Player of this generation.