India vs Australia: ‘On the field, he is the bowling captain’, Pragyan Ojha names the player who’s leading Indian bowling from the front

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been India’s vital cog in the longest format for quite a long time now. Be it home conditions or overseas, he has mastered the art of picking up big wickets in crucial moments.

Ashwin has also been brilliant in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar trophy where he got the better of ace Australian batsman Steve Smith on two occasions. After dismissing Smith at a score of 1 in Adelaide, the off-spinner took him down again in Melbourne, that too, for a duck.

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Praising his heroics in Australia, former Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha has called Ashwin the ‘bowling captain’ of India in Test cricket. During a conversation with Sports Today, Ojha stated that the Tamil Nadu bowler has always been spot-on about his bowling and planning.

“Ashwin knows exactly what he wants to do. He’s not a rookie anymore. He has been to Australia and now he doesn’t have to play for his spot. That’s the most important thing for a player. Once you don’t have the fear of getting dropped from the team over poor performance, then your body language changes. You have a little bit of cushion to do certain things,” Ojha told Sports Today.

“That’s what is making a lot of difference for Ashwin and with the role he is playing now. On the field, he is the bowling captain. So, these responsibilities are helping his enhance his performance. He has always been spot-on about his bowling and planning,” Ojha added.

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Pragyan Ojha went on to hail Ashwin’s fearless approach with the ball. The former cricketer said that Ashwin has developed the habit of delivering in every situation, no matter what the conditions are.

“A guy who has picked up almost 375 Test wickets, so I think, he should be a good planner. But the only difference I see is, mentally he is there. He thinks that it’s him who has to do well for his team and he is the leader of the bowling unit.

“He is not worried about the alien conditions. Normally, when you are travelling to Australia as a rookie, you don’t know how the wickets are going to be or the Kookaburra ball is going to help you. Ashwin has gone past all these and he knows whatever the situation is, he will deliver,” Ojha said.