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The way Ashwin and Jadeja kept reinventing themselves to keep pace with the changing demands of the game has been remarkable.
For quite a while in the early and middle parts of their respective careers, both Ashwin and Jadeja, perhaps, did not pay as much attention to the second suit in their skill sets.
There were isolated sparks during that phase, but since the 2020-21 season they have transformed into a brighter flame.
He @ashwinravi99 – @imjadeja The association has been growing and is now approaching 100 years old.
Watch how they dominated Bangladesh’s bowling attack.
Live – https://t.co/jV4wK7BgV2 #INDVBANAN @IDFCFIRSTBanco photo.twitter.com/Lfmw0NgcGP
— BCCI (@BCCI) September 19, 2024
During this period, Ashwin, who is usually slotted at No. 7-8, has been involved in six 50-plus partnerships with the remaining batsmen, while Jadeja, who is slotted at No. 6-7, has forged four 50-plus partnerships with the later batsmen.
“Yes, these two have been fantastic as bowlers for a long time. But now, they have added more weight to their role as batsmen as well. However, we now need to groom the next line of players as these two will not be around for much longer,” a former cricketer, who played various roles from coach to commentator, told PTI.
So what are the options India can look forward to? “Washington Sundar is an option but he needs to convince himself that he has the skill level to succeed in all three formats.
“Axar Patel offers a similar case… if he wants to be a permanent fixture across all formats then he needs to be more of an all-rounder. But we will have to weigh our options more closely for the next off-spinner behind Ashwin as I don’t see many of them around,” he added.
What he might have had in mind is the fact that while Axar can be a useful customer on pitches that suit the bowlers, the left-arm spinner is yet to show control on the jersey fronts where Jadeja excels with his impeccable control.
“Manav Suthar looks like an exciting prospect and from what I’ve heard, the youngster is quite an astute bowler and a skilled batsman at the lower levels. So hopefully, he’ll give the team another option to consider, sooner rather than later,” he added.
India once again prove why they are such a tough team to play against at home. Ashwin and Jadeja have over 6000 runs and over 800 wickets between them. Such a combination is very rare in Test cricket.
—Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 19, 2024
Recently, left-handed spinner Suthar picked up seven wickets for India C in the Duleep Trophy against India D, before making a crucial 82 against India B in Anantapur.
Vineet Saxena, a two-time Ranji Trophy winner with Rajasthan, also Suthar’s home team, is confident his side can progress to the next level.
“He is just 22 years old. I think we should allow him to play more domestic cricket as it will allow him to gain experience and maturity. But even now, he has a mature thought process and is not afraid of batsmen if they try to attack him,” said Saxena.
However, India will have a much tougher problem in trying to find a line of support for captain Rohit Sharma (37) and Virat Kohli (35) when they decide to call it a day.
Indian selectors are trying to phase out the exit of senior players gradually as they do not want to face a scenario that Australia had to go through in the early 1980s.
The Australians suffered a massive erosion in quality as players like Greg Chappell, Dennis Lillee, Jeoff Thomson and Rodney Marsh retired en masse and took almost a decade to return to the top ranks of world cricket.
“The best option at the moment is to hope that players like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul or someone like Mayank Agarwal perform well and hold on till the next line of players come in, and that is not a far-fetched possibility considering the strong grassroots system in Indian cricket,” the former cricketer added.
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