CHENNAI: About 12 hours after the virtual press conference on Monday night — where India captain Rohit Sharma and chairperson of men's selection committee Ajit Agarkar named him in the squad for the Australia ODIs — ended, R Ashwin was at the SSN College Cricket Ground plying his craft.
The 37-year-old appeared for his TNCA league team — Mylapore Recreation Club A — against Young Stars CC in a VAP Trophy game. He wanted to spend some time in the middle before joining the India squad. His numbers at the end of the game, which MRC A won by 28 runs after posting 285/7, are a 17-ball 12 with the bat before cruising through a tight spell of 1/30 in 10 overs. However, that doesn't tell the whole story.
Ashwin came into bat when his team was 192/5 after 38 overs. He was more than happy to rotate the strike and settle in early on, but a mix-up with Anirudh Sita Ram, who called for a single before sending Ashwin back, meant he was back in the pavilion sooner than he would have liked. The real test, or rather preparation was when he was bowling. After all, he hadn't played the 50-over format in a while — the last time he featured in an ODI was in January 2022.
During the innings break, he could be seen trying all his variations, and having a long intense discussion with his teammate Sanjay Yadav. When he came out to bowl in the ninth over, he started from around the wicket with both openers batting. While from the outside it seemed like he was quietly settling in his first two overs (0/6), as soon as a wicket fell and the new batter came in, Ashwin kept the field inside on the off-side and tried to attack both the edges of the right-hand batter from around the wicket. He continued to do so through his spell, barring the one delivery when he came over the wicket and was hit over mid-off for four by Naushad Shafi Shaik.
That apart, it was a typical Ashwin spell, split into six and four, where he hardly gave any width or bowled short. The variations were there as well, leg spin, off-spin, arm ball, you could see as the Young Stars batter struggled to hit him square of the wicket. When Ganesh Satish eventually jumped out of the crease, trying to hit the off-spinner over the cow corner, Ashwin had his first and only wicket with Boopathi Vaishna Kumar completing the catch in the deep.
It is no secret that the ace off-spinner often explores all avenues available to keep himself up to the mark ahead of a series even if he might not necessarily be in the playing XI. And there have been occasions where he has returned to TNCA league or TNPL immediately after coming from an international assignment, including after the recent World Test Championship Final in June. His commitment to the local league is exemplary.
The off-spinner often used to follow his team's game and call after the match even when he was on tour with the India team. What more, he brings the same kind of intensity one could see in Tests in the VAP Trophy as well. On Tuesday, there were occasions where he had a chat with the umpires about a caught and bowled appeal by Diran VP. He was stationed at mid-off/fine-leg, always in the ears of the younger bowlers and often can be seen adjusting the field at the last minute based on the batter at the crease. And he did so through the 47.5 overs MRC-A took to dismiss Young Stars for 257.
The quality of cricket against Australia will be far from what it was on Tuesday but for Ashwin it is all about following his process and giving himself the best chance to prepare. Safe to say the time he spent in the middle on Tuesday would have done that.
