No wickets, no problem

R Ashwin during DC’s match against CSK on Monday. Pic/BCCI; IPL

Delhi Capitals' (DC) experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is among the top six all time wicket-takers in the IPL, with 143 scalps from 164 games. However, seeing Ashwin's current form, where he has managed just five wickets from 10 games this season, it seems that the ace spinner is struggling with his wicket-taking abilities.

Most of the Indian spinners in the tournament like Varun Chakravarthy (15 wickets), Axar Patel (14), Yuzvendra Chahal (14), Rahul Chahar (13), Ravi Bishnoi (11) and Ravindra Jadeja (10) have done well for their respective franchises since IPL's resumption last month (September 19) in the UAE following the COVID-19 break. However, despite a meagre four wickets in this UAE leg of IPL-14, Ashwin insists he is extremely satisfied and happy with his current bowling performance.

"There are 24 deliveries that I'm allowed to bowl in a game and sometimes I kept on repeating this again and again. To look to go for wickets is not something that you can do in a T20 game. You have to play according to the situation of the game. My job is to bowl to the best of my abilities in those 24 balls and create wicket-taking opportunities," Ashwin replied during the post-match virtual press conference on Monday when mid-day asked him if he was satisfied with his performance.

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Attacking display

The veteran off-spinner felt that it was not always possible for a bowler to attack in the shortest format. "Sometimes I feel it is too lopsided while trying. You can't put a short-leg, slip, you can't look to attack and try and get a wicket. So [given these reasons] I think the way the ball is coming out and the way I am bowling, I am extremely satisfied and happy with it," added Ashwin.

Earlier on Monday, DC's left-arm spinner Axar Patel (4-0-18-2) bowled well to restrict Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to 136-5 in Dubai. Delhi pacers Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan and offie Ashwin claimed one wicket each. In reply, opener Shikhar Dhawan (35-ball 39) and No.7 Shimron Hetmyer's unbeaten 28 off 18 balls helped DC beat CSK in a closely contested encounter by three wickets and with two balls to spare.

Nothing personal

Meanwhile, speaking of his recent controversy involving Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan, Ashwin said that he has no personal issue with anyone. Last week, during the match between DC and KKR, Ashwin took a run after a throw ricocheted off batting partner Rishabh Pant. Morgan and Ashwin exchanged some strong words after which the Indian was accused of not adhering to the Spirit of Cricket. Without regretting his actions, Ashwin said: "We need to understand that culturally everybody is different. The way people are taught to play cricket in England and in India, the way one thinks is completely different. I won't say that anybody is wrong here. It's just that the way the game was played in the 1940s, cannot be the same way that you want someone to play now."

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