Can you select Ashwin purely as a bowler or purely as a batsman?

[fineleg]

Can you select Ashwin purely as a bowler or purely as a batsman? If not, drop him for Brisbane Test. Ridiculous to think he is going to score runs against raging Aus pacers at Brisbane. Either select him because he is better than other batsmen or bowlers. If neither, just drop him and play 2 pacers (UY, VA) + 2 medium pacers (BK, MS or IS) Ashwin is no Flintoff, or Gary Sobers or even Vettori .....meaning he is NOT an allrounder. Drop him if he cannot play purely as a bat or bowl. We will be wasting a spot otherwise.

[Lord]

hes better than other batsmen

[BeautifulGame]

Agree. Only reason he should be selected is the team mgmt believe we definitely need a spinner for Brisbane and feel is better than Karn Sharma Only reason his batting abilities should be considered is if they feel not much diff BTW him and Karn in bowling terms

[-Robin-]

Ashwin is a decent batsman at best i dont know why people hyping as he is next Laxman

[fineleg]

hes better than other batsmen

If you truly feel that - then select him instead of Raina, Rohit Sharma - but u gotta truly believe that he will be the 6th batsman and offspin is bonus to 'keep it tight, and give relief to the pace bowlers'. If Nohit Sharma is better than Ashwin - then go with NS.

[Lord]

If you truly feel that - then select him instead of Raina, Rohit Sharma - but u gotta truly believe that he will be the 6th batsman and offspin is bonus to 'keep it tight, and give relief to the pace bowlers'. If Nohit Sharma is better than Ashwin - then go with NS.

yep thats what I believe

[bowl_out]

^ +1. This is exactly what I believe too... I don't know why we should see his batting or bowling in isolation anyway... His role is exactly what 'fineleg' defined - be the 6th batsman and offspin is bonus to 'keep it tight, and give relief to the pace bowlers

[sensible-indian]

Ashwin as a pure batsman is untested. When you are a pure batsman and you don't score runs, you are under pressure. That's a completely different mindset compared to coming at No 8 and scoring runs which are considered bonus. I like Ashwin but I think he should develop into a good enough spinner. As a batsman, Ashwin has periods where he can play swing, seam and spin effortlessly and periods where he can't put bat on ball. Eg - He played Swann and Monty brilliantly when England toured but couldn't put bat on ball against Lyon and weak Aussie spinners. So the question is whether Ashwin is in the zone or not? If he is, he will score runs in Aus even if others don't. If not, he won't score anything even if the wickets are flat pattas.

[kubrickian]

One spinner will definitely be selected because he will bowl more overs in a day. A seamer may bowl only 16-18 overs at best and if he is a quick bowler, perhaps even less whereas a spinner may bowl close to 30 overs, therefore other seamers will need to bowl lesser overs and get more rest between spells which will keep them fresh. The pitch may also assist spin on 4th, 5th days and you may need a regular spin option. There is also the issue of over rate. Batting wise, Ashwin has also done well in previous tour when most of the batsmen failed. With an inexperienced batting lineup, we may need someone to contribute down the order. So Ashwin is likely to play.

[kubrickian]

Ideally, 5 bowlers would be great but with an inexperienced batting lineup, I dont think its a possibility. 6 batsmen(with Rohit) + Saha + Ashwin + Aaron + Umesh/B Kumar + Ishant is the likely combination.

[game_changerr]

of course,,,,he is chota vvs.....(chota in skills)

[zubinpepsi]

it would be great if he takes some wickets...

[Vilander]

Echusme. Flintoff, or Gary Sobers or even Vettori Is this ascending or descending order of allrounderness ?

[rkt.india]

Even Sydney isnt the same pitch. It will be a green top too.

[BeautifulGame]

Even Sydney isnt the same pitch. It will be a green top too.

It looked pretty dry pitch during the final odi vs SA

[rkt.india]

It looked pretty dry pitch during the final odi vs SA

Pitches in ODIs are different than used in tests. Still a month to go for Sydney test.

[bowl_out]

Actually Vettori is a good comparison to the role Ashwin needs to play... Vettori often plays at 6 or 7... And gives the spinning option... His Test bowling and batting average are worse than Ashwin. Of course, he has played 4 times as many tests

[Old guy]

Actually Vettori is a good comparison to the role Ashwin needs to play... Vettori often plays at 6 or 7... And gives the spinning option... His Test bowling and batting average are worse than Ashwin. Of course, he has played 4 times as many tests

But he bowled in New Zealand a graveyard for spinners so comparing bowling average is not fair Truth is he made much bigger impact in Australia than ashwin did last time

[rkt.india]

But he bowled in New Zealand a graveyard for spinners so comparing bowling average is not fair Truth is he made much bigger impact in Australia than ashwin did last time

what impact Vettori made in Aus?

[Old guy]

what impact Vettori made in Aus?

From what I remember in earlier series he did quite well In last few not much but did a lot with bat