Ashwin’s Top 5 Underrated Spells in International Cricket You Need to Know After His Retirement!

It was an unexpected decision taken by the Indian veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to announce his retirement across all formats of international cricket in the middle of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

After the third test match of the series in Brisbane concluded with a draw outcome, the 38-year-old attended the post-match press conference along with the Indian captain Rohit Sharma to confirm his action. He concluded his cricket career as the second leading wicket-taker for India in tests (537 wickets in 106 tests) ranking behind the former legendary spinner Anil Kumble (619 wickets in 132 matches).

Since Ashwin’s international debut in 2010, his track record has been impressive in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is by achieving several milestones.

Especially, the all-rounder’s 14 years of career includes countless match-winning spells for his team. But, a few of them went unnoticed by not receiving the credit he was supposed to deserve, specifically against teams such as Australia, England, and South Africa.

Let’s take a closer look at the top five underrated spells of Ravichandran Ashwin in international cricket that have posed a tough contest to the opponent teams’ batters.

2-52 (10 Overs) vs Australia: 2011 ODI World Cup Quarter Final Match (in Ahmedabad)

It was less than a year since the young Ashwin made his debut at an international level but has created a sensation with his bowling performance, particularly against Australia in the 2011 World Cup Quarter final.

Australians batting first posted a total of 260-6 in 50 overs, riding on captain Ricky Ponting’s century.

Ashwin’s 2-52 in his 10-over spell played a crucial role in restricting Australia’s total below 300 including the wickets of these two in-form batters of the tournament:

Ultimately, India won the match riding on the half-centuries of Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and Yuvraj Singh, guiding India to chase down a target of 261 in 47.4 overs and secured a 5-wicket victory.

2-15 (4 Overs) vs England: Champions Trophy 2013 Final Match (in Birmingham)

This was the most underrated spell bowled by Ashwin against England in the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 final match. Due to severe rains, the 50-over contest was reduced to 20-over per side, which resulted in England chasing down a modest target of 130 runs out of 120 balls.

However, the credit goes to MS Dhoni’s brilliant captaincy for using spinners to restrict the opponent team’s ability to score runs.

Ashwin’s off-spin bowling skills pressurized England in the powerplay overs with instant dismissals of these two batters:

Dhoni once again showed his brilliance by keeping one over for Ashwin, who shouldered the burden of defending 15 runs off the final over. Conceding 9 runs in 6 balls resulted in India securing a 5-run victory to emerge as the winners of the CT 13, which includes Ash’s contributions of 2-15 in 4 overs.

4-55 (18 Overs) vs Australia: 1st test of BGT 2020-21 (in Adelaide)

The entire cricket world remembers India’s lowest test score of 36-all-out that caused a humiliating 8-wicket loss against the Aussies. But Ash’s 4-55 in 18 overs in the pink-ball test of the BGT 2020-21 should certainly be honored.

Despite India’s innings being wrapped to 244 in 1st innings, they still maintained a 53-run lead by restricting Australia’s first innings total to 191 in 72.1 overs as Ashwin bagged these four key wickets:

4-62 (26 Overs) vs England in 2018: 1st out of 5-Match Test Series (in Birmingham)

Ashwin overcame severe criticism for his subpar performance in SENA countries with his 4-62 against England in the first test that bundled out the team’s total to 287 in 89.4 overs. The off-spinner started with the early dismissal of Alastair Cook and when the England batters were perfectly set, he grabbed three more wickets in quick succession:

However, Ash’s contributions went in vain as India lost the match by 31 runs allowing England to start the 5-match test series with a 1-0 lead.

4-113 (38.5 overs) vs South Africa in 2018 2nd Test (in Centurion)

South Africa posted a competitive total of 335 in 113.5 overs batting first in the 2nd test of the 2-match test series played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Though South African batters seemed to be well set, Ashwin’s 4-113 in 38.5 overs includes breaking a solid opening 85-run partnership between Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram. Here are the crucial wickets Ash bagged in the 2nd test:

Unfortunately, Ashwin’s impressive spell couldn’t save India facing a 135-run loss against the Proteas.