According to Ravichandran Ashwin, the Indian cricket team has lacked the quality of a left-arm fast bowler since Zaheer Khan’s retirement. This lack of a crafty bowler has caused the Men in Blue to struggle against the older ball that moves back into right-handers. Ashwin acknowledged that this issue is shared by all teams and not just the Indian side. He believes that the angle these bowlers create is difficult to defend against, as batters such as Virat Kohli face right-arm bowlers in the nets, but left-armers pose an entirely different challenge. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:
“Once Zaheer Khan retired, India haven’t found a proper left-arm seamer. There is no use of saying that we have a problem in facing a left-arm seamer because he brings different dynamics of the game into play. In the 2019 World Cup semi-final, Trent Boult swung the ball and took the wicket of Virat Kohli.
“Facing that angle is completely different. In the nets, Virat Kohli will be facing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. All of them are fantastic bowlers. When a left-arm seamer bowls from over the stumps, he is suddenly bringing the stumps into play. How many right-arm seamers are bowling inswing at the moment? Since we don’t have a left-arm seamer, we are unable to put the opponent under pressure.
“Many people are talking about how Indian batters are struggling against the left-arm angle, and blah blah blah. See, a left-arm angle itself is a massive advantage to the opponents. Almost all selection process will be eyeing specifically a left-arm fast bowler. All the IPL teams will give premium value to a left-arm fast bowler because a left-arm seamer creates problems for almost all cricketers.”
The Indian batting squad has been criticized for their lack of success when facing left-arm seamers.
I feel Starc has even gone past Brett Lee’s stature in ODI cricket – Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin lavished Mitchell Starc with high praise, citing the bowler as a crucial part of Australia’s success for many years, particularly in ODIs. He proposed that the 33-year-old be recognized as one of the all-time greats.
“Shaun Tait is saying that Mitchell Starc is on his way to becoming an all-time great. But if you ask me, he has already gone past that stage. Australia have had their share of all-time greats like Glenn McGrath. But when it comes to ODIs, Starc is on par with Brett Lee. I feel Starc has even gone past Brett Lee’s stature in ODI cricket.”
Australia achieved an impressive 10-wicket triumph over India in the second ODI.