We are not the best players of spin anymore: R Ashwins stinging reality check after Indias Eden collapse

NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has delivered a brutally honest assessment of Indias shocking batting collapse at Eden Gardens, insisting that the current generation of Indian batters is no longer the best against spin. India crashed to a 30-run defeat against South Africa inside three days while chasing just 124 — a result Ashwin believes would never have happened in an era where Indian batters mastered turning tracks.

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Speaking on his YouTube channel after the loss, Ashwin said the modern Indian batting unit lacks the technique and temperament needed to survive quality spin bowling.

I am gonna stick my neck out and say in another game in an era where spin bowling was combated very well… I will take the names Amol Muzumdar and Mithun Manhas, who is the BCCI president, and I wont take all the names, but Sachin Tendulkar in his prime, the God of Cricket, Ashwin said.

He stressed that if those players had batted on the same turning wicket, “this game would have gone to four days.” Ashwin pointed out that only a handful of players showed any defensive solidity: “In a total of 16 batters, only three to four players have defended well. If you want to play on turning tracks, then your game against spin has to be good; otherwise, dont play on such pitches as simple.”

Ashwin argued that Indias decline against spin is a direct result of inadequate preparation. “We are not the best players of spin going around in the world at this point in time. Most Western teams are better than India now because they come to India, they practice it a lot more, but we dont practice enough of it.”

He added that India has paradoxically become better at playing fast bowling abroad: “We are superior players of fast bowling in many other venues right now because we consider that as a challenge, but not this. That is the difference.”

South Africas win — their first Test victory in India since 2010 — gives them a golden chance to clinch the series when the second Test begins in Guwahati on November 22.

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