Statistically, Ravi Ashwin is one of India's most successful bowlers with the new ball. Till a very fruitful 2015 World Cup on true Australian pitches, he definitely picked himself in the limited-overs playing XI. By the time the 2017 Champions Trophy came around, he was not necessarily picked without giving it a second thought. The debacle against Pakistan changed a lot of things for him which included not being considered for the World Cup in England 2 years later. It resulted in him playing as little cricket as 2 ODIs in 6 years and no ODI cricket for the last 18 months which is bad enough for anyone to lose hope but again, not for a certain off-spinning wizard from Chennai. Was an odd game in the Asia Cup enough? I guess not. Hence, the series against Australia was the last opportunity for him to revive his white-ball career and have a go at another World Cup. One quality that every athlete should possess is making the most of what god gives you and that is what Ashwin has done all his life. After being sidelined for so long, it seemed as if Ashwin looked upon the Australia run chase in the second ODI, perhaps his last chance to convince selectors, as a personal mission. With 399 on the board, India was always going to win. It was a perfect time for Ashwin to get into the wickets column but more importantly, showcase various things he can do with the white ball. He had Warner in front of him who was trying to mess with Ashwin's mind by shifting to a right-handed stance, maybe because of Ashwin's outstanding record against left-handers including Warner himself. He played a fierce sweep past a short third or a short fine as he was batting right-handed. Ashwin, being a cunning operator, delivered a perfectly executed carrom ball, full and straight, flicked by the middle finger, and got it to turn away. Warner might have anticipated it as he was down on his knee trying to reverse sweep, which could have been a conventional sweep had he been batting in a normal stance. Warner got himself into a complete tangle and ate that ball right in front of the stumps. It is so plumb that even a reviewer as compulsive as David Warner decided to walk for once. In between the boundary and the Warner wicket, Ashwin foxed a well-set Marnus Labuchagne who is in the form of his life in this format. Marnus had seen enough of Ashwin in test matches to know what tricks he could throw at a batsman yet he couldn't read a drifter. Delivered with the seam pointing at first slip, the ball curled in and then moved away towards the off stump as if someone blew air on it. Marnus was stunned and that was the start of a magnificent spell of off-spin bowling on a pitch that was not offering anything.
Ashwin has seen it all in white-ball cricket since 2010. He was an integral part of MS Dhoni's teams that won the World Cup and the Champions Trophy in England. For all his perennial threat in the IPL, his potency in the 50-over format was long thought to be in decline. He has seen the changes in the rules of the game. He has seen the edges of the bats get wider and the center gets bigger. From Ashwin who bowled with the same ball from both ends until 2015 to Ashwin who now has to adapt to bowling with two new balls against stronger batsmen holding bats that don't have a weak spot, he has tried to stay relevant in the game which I think is the most difficult challenge for any cricketer, especially a bowler. Did the three wickets against Australia get him in the World Cup squad? No, the wickets were a beautiful two-story bungalow for everyone to see. The foundation was laid by putting in hours of practice at the national academy, keeping the ego aside, and playing low-profile local games in Tamil Nadu and constantly thinking about the game. When a bowler with more than 700 international wickets at the age of 38 thinks that there is still room for growth, it says a lot about the character. In an era where the stocks of a bowler have risen to unimaginable importance, his skills have become more and more irrelevant because of the playing conditions. To Ashwin's credit, he refused to accept that he was outdated, and was never afraid of trying out new things, whether it be changing his run-up or switching from finger spin to wrist spin. There are not too many people with sharper cricketing brains than Ravichandran Ashwin. Just to be able to think one step ahead of the batsman is an outrageous quality to have in modern-day cricket.
The unfortunate injury to Axar Patel does mean that the Stars and the planetary positions finally seemed to have aligned for one of India's greatest cricketers. Almost all of India's legendary spinners had a glorious moment in their careers, the trio of Bedi-Chandra-Prasanna had a handful of overseas successes, Kumble had the 10-wicket haul, and Harbhajan had the Australia series. Despite all the 489 test wickets including 34 five-wicket hauls, it still feels that Ashwin needs to have a moment of glory on the biggest stage to mark a remarkable end. Cricket fairytales do exist and Ashwin's inclusion in the World Cup squad could be the start of one. Only time will tell how much part he actually has to play in the World Cup but if he is able to have an impact on India's way to victory, this could be one of the most romantic stories in Indian Cricket history.
