Former England captain Kevin Pietersen shared his perspective on Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance during Day 4 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.
Pietersen suggested that Ravichandran Ashwin’s pursuit of 500 Test wickets might have influenced his bowling, despite the spinner managing to take three crucial wickets.
“It seemed like Ashwin was primarily focused on reaching milestones. This might have affected his bowling performance, although he did show glimpses of brilliance. I noticed he was more threatening when bowling wider outside off-stump around the wicket,” Pietersen commented post-match.
“I believe he relied too much on bowling over the wicket to right-handers. He has the ability to vary his bowling approach – switching between over and around the wicket,” Pietersen added.
Pietersen expressed confidence that once Ashwin achieves the milestone of 500 wickets, which Pietersen hopes will happen in the third Test in Rajkot, the spinner will regain his peak performance level.
“I have no doubt about Ashwin’s capabilities, and I don’t think the England bowlers have figured him out. He’s a phenomenal bowler and has delivered crucial breakthroughs for his team. Ultimately, it’s about team success, not individual achievements,” Pietersen emphasized.
“I believe Ashwin will feel more at ease after claiming one more wicket. You’ll likely see him more relaxed, with the pressure lifted, allowing him to focus solely on his game,” Pietersen concluded.
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